The Sacramento Bee and Nehemiah Leaders Programs are celebrating this year’s 60 Change Makers. Join them at our gala at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at the Grand Sheraton in downtown Sacramento. Buy tickets at sacramentochangemakers.com.
Larry Lee’s father, William, co-founded The Observer in 1962. The African American newspaper has served Sacramento since, winning more than 700 local and national awards.
In fact, Lee shares two awards with his father: the Robert T. Matsui Community Service Award and the American Leadership Forum’s Exemplary Leader Award.
He called the two-generational acknowledgement “mind-blowing.”
Lee said he grew up with the paper and has photos of himself at around 6 years old, working in the newsroom. Before Lee left for college, his parents asked if he wanted to become fully involved in the family business.
“I told them without any hesitation that I would, not knowing fully what that meant,” Lee said. “But I had committed myself to trying to learn as much as I could about the craft of journalism, the craft of small business, knowing the nuances of the African American community, and understanding the historical challenges that many of us have faced.”
Larry Lee, publisher of The Sacramento Observer, poses for a portrait on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 after being recognized as one of this year’s Change Makers. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com
Lee is the publisher and president of the Observer Media Group. He’s led the organization through changes in technology and news consumption, but through it all Lee has approached these challenges with a community-centered strategy allowing for the legacy paper to prosper.
The Observer has been named Best Black Newspaper in America eight times and continued to grow — including an expansion to cover Stockton. For Lee, it was necessary to provide the civic fabric that helps connect a community to social, institutional and political knowledge.
“I get to live a life and do work that is purpose-driven and can have impact outside of my immediate circle and my immediate walls,” Lee said.
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Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado is a service journalism reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked at the Star Democrat in Annapolis, Maryland. Veronica graduated from Georgetown University with a master’s degree in journalism.