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The Chronicle News Vol. 5 No. 47 February 15st – February 29th, 2024
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BLACK HISTORY MONTH The History of African-American Newspapers BY J. ISAAC NOEL BENJAMIN
A
s a young man pondering the what-ifs and possibilities in life, I received an early vision of clarity. I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a writer. While on active duty and stationed in Germany, I had the unique experience of breaking bread with people from many different cultures. Some were soldiers (not U.S. Troops), and some were local citizens. One overriding and dynamic concept became very clear. We all put our pants on one leg at a time, and we all eat breakfast in the morning. Diversity is different individuals valuing each other regardless of skin color, intellect, talent, or years of age. Inclusion means an invite to the party, and you've been asked
to dance. Being African-American and having a freshly minted degree in journalism, I pondered the African-American newspaper's role in our community. The part of the African American newspapers is synonymous with that of the African American church. Both play vital roles in the African American community at large. An internet search gives an ample account of the beginnings of the African-American newspaper industry. Historically, African-American newspapers came into existence before the Civil War as a medium of abolitionist sentiment expression. In 1827, Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm started the first African-American periodical, called Freedom's Journal. Most of the early African-Amer-
ican publications, such as Freedom's Journal, were published in the North and then distributed, often covertly, to African Americans throughout the country. By the 20th century, daily papers appeared in Norfolk, Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Some notable black newspapers of the 19th century were Freedom's Journal (1827–29), Philip Alexander Bell's Colored American (1837–41), the North Star (1847– 60), the National Era, The Frederick Douglass Paper (1851–63), the Douglass Monthly (1859–63), The Christian Recorder (1861–1902), and Daniel Rudd's Ohio Tribune (later renamed to American Catholic Tribune, 1885-1897). Turn to Page 9 THE HISTORY...
Presidential Primary Early Voting Now Available at the Reo Elections Office and Foster Community Center starting February 17th LANSING CITY CLERK LANSING – Starting Saturday, February 17th until Sunday, February 25th, early voting will be available to all Lansing City voters. Similar to Election Day, voters will be issued a ballot and can then insert their ballot directly into a tabulator at our early voting sites.
The Reo Elections Office, located at 1221 Reo Rd., offers free parking, a 24hour secure drop box, and is conveniently located on CATA route #9. The Reo Elections Office’s Early voting hours are: 4 Saturday, Feb. 17th – Tuesday, Feb. 20th 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Turn to Page 10 PRESIDENTIAL...
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