The African American Newspaper: Voice of Freedom

Medill Visions of the American Press

by Patrick S. Washburn, Clarence Page (Foreword)

In March 1827 the nation's first black newspaper appeared in New York City - to counter attacks on blacks by the city's other papers. From this signal event, The African American Newspaper traces the evolution of the black newspaper - and its ultimate decline.
The book chronicles the growth of the black press into a powerful and effective national voice for African Americans during the period from 1910 to 1950 - a period that proved critical to the formation and gathering strength of the civil rights movement that emerged so forcefully in the following decades. Washburn also examines the numerous reasons for black newspapers' marked decline in influence and circulation in the decades immediately following World War II. His book documents as never before how the press's singular accomplishments provide a unique record of all areas of black history and shows how the black press itself significantly shaped and affected the black experience in America.

Genres: Journalism

259 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2006

About the author

Patrick S. Washburn is a professor of journalism at the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, the author of A Question of Sedition: The Federal Government's Investigation of the Black Press during World War II , and a historical consultant for the PBS television documentary The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords . He has been an invited speaker about the black press at the Smithsonian Institution, the National D-Day Museum, and numerous universities.

Reviews

[Rania QI · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful exploration of the African American press-—its rise, its fall, its purpose. You'll learn about the Pittsburgh Courier and the legendary Double-V Campaign during WWII, how the black press aided the civil rights movement, when and why the black press declined... A historical, well-researched piece for any aspiring newspaper journalist.