Synopses & Reviews
Winner, 2007 Tankard Award
In March of 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--for more than 160 years until the end of the twentieth century.
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. In particular, author Patrick S. Washburn explores how the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender led the way as the two most influential black newspapers in U.S. history, effectively setting the stage for the civil rights movement's successes. Washburn also examines the numerous reasons for the enormous decline of black newspapers 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 a significant and shaping affect on the black experience in America.
Review
"This is a book that should be read by everyone interested in a civil society, democracy, or the power of journalism." American Journalism
Synopsis
Winner of 2007 Tankard Award
In March of 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--for more than 160 years until the end of the twentieth century.
About the Author
Patrick S. Washburn is a professor of journalism at Ohio University and the author of A
Question of Sedition: The Federal Government's Investigation of the Black Press during World War II (Oxford, 1986) and the co-author of
The Greenwood Library of American War Reportings, Vol. 5: World War I & World War II, The European Theater (Greenwood, 2005).
Table of Contents
Foreword by Clarence Page
Preface
Introduction
One
The Early Black Press
Two
Struggling but Surviving
Three
A New Type of Newspaper
Four
Between the Wars
Five
World War II
Six
From an Incredible High to an Incredible Low
Seven
The Civil Rights Era and the Black Press
Notes
Bibliography
Index