HISTORY OF THE BLACK PRESS:
For the past two centuries, the Black Press has provided a voice for a people who were regularly silenced by mainstream American media outlets. Black periodicals helped to shape and empower Black communities. They championed Black accomplishments and agitated for Black rights. From its humble beginnings in the early nineteenth century to its continued evolution in the present day, the Black Press has carried the weight of history on its ink-stained pages. Join us on a journey through time as we explore some of the milestones and stories that have woven the fabric of Black journalism.
1827
FREEDOM'S JOURNAL
The first Black-owned and operated newspaper to be published in the United States. Editors Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm promised Black readers that the Journal would "plead our own cause." Although the paper only lasted for two years, its support for abolition and advocacy of Black civil and educational rights helped to establish a precedent for the Black Press as a "fighting press."
1847
THE NORTH STAR
Published in Rochester, New York, the North Star was arguably the most influential Black periodical to emerge during the decades prior to the American Civil War. Its name and content reflected the primacy of antislavery to the antebellum Black Press. As a mouthpiece for editor Frederick Douglass, one of the most recognizable Black men in the country, the Star also highlighted the critical role of Black periodicals as a "voice for the race."
1879
THE CALIFORNIAN EAGLE
Founded by Texan-born publisher John J. Neimore, the Eagle is most closely affiliated with Charlotta Bass, a pioneering Black female publisher who assumed ownership of the newspaper in 1912. Under Bass's leadership, the Eagle became one of the nation's most widely circulated Black newspapers and helped to lead the fight for Black civil rights on the West Coast.
1905
CHICAGO DEFENDER
During the first two decades of the twentieth century, the Defender evolved from an inauspicious community paper into "the world's greatest weekly." Its founder, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, migrated to Chicago from coastal Georgia during the 1890s, and the Defender became an important voice for millions of Black Southerners who ventured north as part of the "Great Migration."
1945
EBONY
One of the first commercially successful Black photo-editorial magazines, Ebony transformed the landscape of Black publishing following its introduction in the 1940s. As the flagship of the Johnson Publishing Company, Ebony could be found in almost every Black household by its tenth anniversary. Its ability to move with the changing ideological and political tides meant that its popularity endured into the 1990s, and although the magazine ceased print publication in 2019, it has recently been relaunched in digital format.
1827
FREEDOM'S JOURNAL
The first Black-owned and operated newspaper to be published in the United States. Editors Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm promised Black readers that the Journal would "plead our own cause." Although the paper only lasted for two years, its support for abolition and advocacy of Black civil and educational rights helped to establish a precedent for the Black Press as a "fighting press."
1879
THE CALIFORNIAN EAGLE
Founded by Texan-born publisher John J. Neimore, the Eagle is most closely affiliated with Charlotta Bass, a pioneering Black female publisher who assumed ownership of the newspaper in 1912. Under Bass's leadership, the Eagle became one of the nation's most widely circulated Black newspapers and helped to lead the fight for Black civil rights on the West Coast.
1945
EBONY
One of the first commercially successful Black photo-editorial magazines, Ebony transformed the landscape of Black publishing following its introduction in the 1940s. As the flagship of the Johnson Publishing Company, Ebony could be found in almost every Black household by its tenth anniversary. Its ability to move with the changing ideological and political tides meant that its popularity endured into the 1990s, and although the magazine ceased print publication in 2019, it has recently been relaunched in digital format.
1847
THE NORTH STAR
Published in Rochester, New York, the North Star was arguably the most influential Black periodical to emerge during the decades prior to the American Civil War. Its name and content reflected the primacy of antislavery to the antebellum Black Press. As a mouthpiece for editor Frederick Douglass, one of the most recognizable Black men in the country, the Star also highlighted the critical role of Black periodicals as a "voice for the race."
1905
CHICAGO DEFENDER
During the first two decades of the twentieth century, the Defender evolved from an inauspicious community paper into "the world's greatest weekly." Its founder, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, migrated to Chicago from coastal Georgia during the 1890s, and the Defender became an important voice for millions of Black Southerners who ventured north as part of the "Great Migration."
2025
BLACK PRESS @ 200
The Black Press continues today with over 200 newspapers and periodicals in the United States alone.