By Demetrius Dillard
Without the Black media, there would be no revolution. No Civil Rights Movement. No Abolition Movement. No Harlem Renaissance. No Pan-Africanist Movement. No Universal Negro Improvement Association. And so forth.
John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish, the founders and editors of Freedom’s Journal, the first Black newspaper, were the progenitors of a product that would profoundly change the world – especially for Black Americans.
In 1827, Russwurm and Cornish birthed the Black press on the basis of a forceful concept that still holds credence today: “TOO LONG HAVE OTHERS SPOKEN FOR US.” It was these very words that would fuel the fire of an ongoing Black revolution, a social awakening, a movement that would immensely impact society from nearly every angle — from politics, to sports, to religion, to economics, to education — the Black press has and will continue to a stabilizing force in countless Black communities throughout the world.
Obviously, media has evolved for the almost 200 years that the Black press has existed in America. But evolution is a natural occurrence; basketball has evolved, fashion has evolved, music has evolved, technology has evolved, so expectedly media – and the way it is consumed – will evolve too.
Thousands were still enslaved on American soil in the early 19th century, but the establishment of Freedom’s Journal marked the beginning of an era in which Black Americans would use the printed word as a means of political protest.
The White-owned newspapers that flourished at the time would routinely vilify Black people, which prompted Russwurm and Cornish to design and publication that would give a voice to the voiceless, empower the powerless, and uplift the downtrodden and disadvantaged.
Shortly after the Freedom’s Journal released, came the North Star, published by abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass, which has widespread influence in the Northeast.
“Before the Civil War, newspapers in the North became a vital force in the antislavery movement; after the war, Black newspapers in both the North and the South helped to forge cohesive communities of formerly enslaved African Americans,” says a California Newsreel webpage.
“And when, following Reconstruction, racist violence targeted African Americans, the Black press once again took up the mantle of political activism.”
The mainstream press had the proclivity to incessantly denigrate innocent Black people, and there came a time that Black leaders became fed up. The nation’s first Black publishers no longer had to depend on White abolitionists and journalists to speak for them in the mainstream press.
Though the Freedom’s Journal ceased publication after only two years, it broke new ground both as a quest for Black entrepreneurship and as the first platform for Black public expression, consequently taking the media scene by storm.
Also worthy to note is an excerpt from the Freedom Journal’s initial issue, published on March 16, 1827. The column was so masterfully crafted, and written with such depth, empathy, eloquence and profundity, that one couldn’t help but be emotionally drawn after reading.
“Useful knowledge of every kind, and everything that relates to Africa, shall find a ready admission into our columns; and as that vast continent becomes daily more known, we trust that many things will come to light, proving that the natives of it are neither so ignorant nor stupid as they have generally been supposed to be.
“And while these important subjects shall occupy the columns of the FREEDOM’S JOURNAL, we would not be unmindful of our brethren who are still in the iron fetters of bondage. They are our kindred by all the ties of nature; and though but little can be effected by us, still let our sympathies be poured forth, and our prayers in their behalf, ascend to Him who is able to succour them.
“From the press and the pulpit we have suffered much by being incorrectly represented.”
Between 1827 and 1861, the start of the Civil War, an estimated two dozen Black-owned and operated newspapers were founded in Northern cities. As the 19th century transitioned over to the early 20th century, more Black media professionals began to emerge and Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender, Los Angeles Sentinel, New York Amsterdam News, Philadelphia Tribune, Baltimore Afro American, Pittsburgh Courier and Atlanta Daily World served as reliable news sources for Black communities in major cities.
As aforesaid, mainstream media oftentimes overlooked Black success and printed headlines that highlighted crime, poverty and other forms of negativity in the Black community. Conversely, the Black press served as a mechanism of dignity in the Black community, chronicling stories and events that not only built self-esteem and morale for the Black man, woman and child, but accentuated the ills of White supremacy too.
As the digital age and social media began to emerge, a number of Black newspapers folded. Many Black papers still exist, like the Philly Tribune, the New York Amsterdam News, the Bay State Banner (Boston), Winston-Salem Chronicle and of course – Hartford’s very own Northend Agents.
With the advent of social media platforms and the dwindling or disappearance of Black newspapers, blogs, digital publications, and the like began to surface, somewhat giving rise to a new identity for the Black press.
The typical Black American does not consume news the same in 2020 as in 1970. Unfortunately, the written word isn’t cherished to the same degree that it was in times past and the support for the Black press has decreased substantially.
Many fail to realize that while social media posts or blogs may be good sources for news at times, those platforms simply don’t preserve and outline issues in Black America to the extent that Black newspapers do. Not to belittle the value of digital media, because it has been at the forefront of several recent social and political issues.
Who knows; perhaps there will be a resurgence of the Black press, whether digital or print, but for a pro-Black agenda to continue, the Black press must persist. Black publishers, editors, influential figures and emerging innovators will be the leaders of how impactful and relevant the Black media will be in the midst of an age that seems largely oblivious to the power of the written word, especially in the context of furthering Black social mobility.
