The Black Press is Born
by: Dr. Clint Wilson
In the wake of their meeting at the home of M. Boston Crummell in New York City during the winter of 1827, a group of free African-American men - all leading citizens from throughout the Eastern seaboard - decided to publish the first newspaper in the United States owned, written and edited by and for Black Americans.
The newspaper was needed because the usual avenues of printed public discourse were unavailable to them. White newspapers were generally closed to viewpoints from Black citizens and, in fact, one such organ - the New York Enquirer - openly used its columns to degrade Negroes by questioning the character and courage of Black men and impugning the chastity of Black women.
The organizers chose two of their distinguished peers as editors: John Brown Russwurm and the Rev. Samuel Cornish. Russwurm had recently become among the first of his race to earn a bachelors degree at an American college and Cornish was a respected pastor of a Presbyterian church in New York. The first issue of the newspaper, called Freedom's Journal, set forth its objectives and, to a large degree, those objectives remain the same for the Black Press of the 21st century.
TO OUR PATRONS
In presenting our first number to our Patrons, we feel all the diffidence of persons entering upon a new and untried line of business. But a moment's reflection upon the noble objects, which we have in view by the publication of this Journal; the ...
1988 - First Black Catholic Archbishop in U.S. Appointed
Pope John Paul II designated Eugene A. Marino as Archbishop to head the North Georgia diocese that included the city of Atlanta and the Black Press duly noted the historic occasion.
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1886 - Blacks, Whites and Organized Labor
W. A. Pledger wrote this article about the struggle for the rights of laborers - a common issue that brought Blacks and poor working class whites together.
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