THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD (1865-1880)
[Sidenote: EMANCIPATION GOAL OF NEGRO PRESS]
With the emancipation, a new period in Negro Journalism is begun. For
nearly forty years newspapers had been published by Negroes who had
obtained their freedom, but the circulation of these papers among the
race group of necessity was limited. Emancipation marked the realization
of the goal of the Negro press prior to that time, and with the ushering
in of freedom many of the newspapers ceased publication. There was,
however, still another great, if not even more important task for the
Negro press—the education of the masses of illiterate. This task the
surviving newspapers, together with many new ones, set out to accomplish.
[Sidenote: FIRST SOUTHERN NEGRO NEWSPAPER]
The first notable development of the period was the beginning of Negro
newspapers in the South, where the large majority of Negroes were
located. The first Negro newspaper published in the South was _The
Colored American_ of Augusta, Ga., issued for the first time in October,
1865. The following paragraph from its prospectus will suffice to show
the paper’s attitude and policy:
[Sidenote: COLORED AMERICAN’S PROSPECTUS]
“It (_The Colored American_) is designated to be a vehicle for the
diffusion of Religious, Political and General Intelligence. It will be
devoted to the promotion of harmony and good-will between the whites and
Colored people of the south, and untiring in its advocacy of Industry and
Education among all classes; but particularly the class most in need of
our agency.
“Accepting, at all times, the decision of public sentiment and
Legislative Assemblies, and bowing to the majesty of law, it will
fearlessly remonstrate against legal and constitutional proscription by
appeal to the public sense of justice.”[3]
[Sidenote: SHUFTEN’S EDITORIAL ON THE RACE PROBLEM]
The editor of the paper was J. T. Shuften, who was ably assisted by Dr.
James Lynch. Shuften was credited by _The New York World_ as having
written the best article of the time on the “Negro Question.” The paper
was short-lived and suspended February, 1866.
[Sidenote: PRECURSORS IN SOUTHERN STATES]
With the beginning of Negro Journalism in the South, papers sprung up in
other states: _The Colored Tennessean_ and _The True Communicator_, of
Baltimore, Md., being among the more noted ones. Many of the papers were
short-lived; others changed hands and names frequently and continued for
several years.
[Sidenote: PAPERS GROW IN INFLUENCE AND CIRCULATION]
The year 1868 saw the founding of _The Charleston Leader_, at Charleston,
S. C. By 1870, the Negro press began to make itself felt. _The People’s
Journal_, with a circulation of over 10,000 was being edited by Dr. R.
L. Perry. In Mississippi, James J. Spellman and John Lynch began _The
Colored Citizen_. December, 1870, marked the founding of _The New Orleans
Louisianian_, by P. B. S. Pinchback[4], who in 1873 became governor of
Louisiana, being the only Negro ever to hold this position.
[Sidenote: EDITORS HIGHLY EDUCATED]
August 1861, John J. Freeman started _The Progressive American_, in New
York City, which existed for ten years. The one outstanding achievement
of this paper is the fact that as a result of its fight for Negro
teachers in the public schools twenty-three were appointed. Between 1865
and 1880, over 30 newspapers of more or less merit came into existence;
Negro newspapers were being published in 21 states. The papers of the
period were ably edited and were the product of some of the most highly
educated Negroes.
[3] Pinchback died in Washington, D. C., Dec. 22, 1921.
[4] Afro-American Press.