's illustration celebrating the 116th anniversary of African American newspapers
Origins Most of the early African American publications, such as ''Freedom's Journal,'' were published in the North and then distributed, often covertly, to African Americans throughout the country. The newspaper often covered regional, national, and international news. It also addressed the issues of American slavery and The
American Colonization Society which involved the repatriation of free blacks back to Africa.
19th century Some notable black newspapers of the 19th century were ''Freedom's Journal'' (1827–1829),
Philip Alexander Bell's
Colored American (1837–1841), the
North Star (1847–1860), the
National Era,
The Aliened American in Cleveland (1853–1855), ''
Frederick Douglass' Paper (1851–1863), the Douglass Monthly (1859–1863), The People's Advocate, founded by John Wesley Cromwell and Travers Benjamin Pinn (1876–1891), and The Christian Recorder'' (1861–1902). In the 1860s, the newspapers
The Elevator and the
Pacific Appeal emerged in California as a result of black participation in the
Gold Rush.
The American Freedman was a New York-based paper that served as an outlet to inspire African Americans to use the
Reconstruction era as a time for social and political advancement. This newspaper did so by publishing articles that referenced African American mobilization during that era that had not only local support but had gained support from the global community as well. The name
The Colored Citizen was used by various newspapers established in the 1860s and later. In 1879,
John J. Neimore founded
The California Owl, later renamed
The California Eagle. The Los Angeles-based publication was one of the oldest African American newspapers in the West. In 1885,
Daniel Rudd formed the
Ohio Tribune, said to be the first
newspaper "printed by and for
Black Americans", which he later expanded into the
American Catholic Tribune, purported to the first
Black-owned national newspaper.
The Cleveland Gazette was established in the 1880s and continued for decades. The
National Afro-American Press Association was formed in 1890 in
Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1894,
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin founded ''
The Woman's Era, the first nationally distributed newspaper published by and for African American women in the United States. The Woman's Era
began as the official publication of the National Association of Colored Women, and grew in import and impact with the founding of the National Federation of Afro American Women in 1895. It was also one of the first newspapers, along with the National Association Notes'', to create journalism career opportunities for Southern black women. Many African American newspapers struggled to keep their circulation going due to the low rate of literacy among African Americans. Many freed African Americans had low incomes and could not afford to purchase subscriptions but shared the publications with one another.
20th century African American newspapers flourished in the major cities, with publishers playing a major role in politics and business affairs. By the 20th century, daily papers appeared in
Norfolk,
Chicago,
Baltimore and
Washington, D.C. Representative leaders included
Robert Sengstacke Abbott (1870–1940) and
John H. Sengstacke (1912–1997), publishers of the
Chicago Defender;
John Mitchell Jr. (1863–1929), editor of the
Richmond Planet and president of the National Afro-American Press Association;
Anthony Overton (1865–1946), publisher of the
Chicago Bee; Garth C. Reeves Sr. (1919–2019), publisher emeritus of the
Miami Times; and
Robert Lee Vann (1879–1940), the publisher and editor of the
Pittsburgh Courier. In the 1940s, the number of newspapers grew from 150 to 250. At the end of
World War II, the black newspapers with the highest circulation in the United States were the
Pittsburgh Courier, the
Afro-American, the
Chicago Defender, and the
Norfolk Journal and Guide. From 1881 to 1909, the
National Colored Press Association (American Press Association) operated as a trade association. The
National Negro Business League-affiliated National Negro Press Association filled that role from 1909 to 1939. The Chicago-based
Associated Negro Press (1919–1964) was a subscription
news agency "with correspondents and stringers in all major centers of black population". In 1940, Sengstacke led African American newspaper publishers in forming the trade association known in the 21st century as the
National Newspaper Publishers Association. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Black southern press both aided and, to an extent, hindered the equal payment movement of Black teachers in the southern United States. Newspaper coverage of the movement served to publicize the cause. However, the way in which the movement was portrayed, and those whose struggles were highlighted in the press, displaced Black women to the background of a movement they spearheaded. A woman's issue, and a Black woman's issue, was being covered by the press. However, reporting diminished the roles of the women fighting for teacher salary equalization and “diminished the presence of the teachers’ salary equalization fight” in national debates over equality in education. meets with newspaper publishers in 1965. There were many specialized black publications, such as those of
Marcus Garvey and
John H. Johnson. These men broke a wall that let black people into society. The
Roanoke Tribune was founded in 1939 by
Fleming Alexander, and recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. The
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder is Minnesota's oldest black-owned newspaper and one of the United States' oldest ongoing minority publication, second only to
The Jewish World.
21st century Many Black newspapers that began publishing in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s went out of business because they could not attract enough advertising. As of 2002, about 200 Black newspapers remained. With the decline of print media and proliferation of internet access, more black news websites emerged, most notably
Black Voice News,
The Grio,
The Root, and
Black Voices. ==See also==