March 21 - 27, 2024 • D1
St. Louis American, Black businesses helped African Americans make historic gains In 1940, Chicago Defender Publisher John Sengstacke led Black newspaper publishers in forming the trade association known as the National Newspaper Publishers Association. The St. Louis American was founded 12 years earlier and was one of many Blackowned businesses that not only survived but also grew stronger as the nation reeled during The Great Depression.
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American The St. Louis American was founded on March 17, 1928, just under 18 months before the stock market crash and The Great Depression which stretched from 1929 until the late 1930s. The worldwide economic crisis crushed thousands of U.S. businesses, but it did not stop the progress of Black Americans or Black-owned business interests like the American. The Freedom’s Journal, recognized as the first Black owned newspaper, was published in1827, and others including Frederick Douglass’ North Star would soon be available. By 1928, scores of Black newspapers were being published. This included several in the St. Louis area. A decade after the American was first published, the number of Black newspapers was nearing 250. From 1881 to 1909 According to its archives, the National Colored Press Association (American Press Association) operated as a trade association from 1881 to 1909. The National Negro Business League-affiliated National Negro Press Association filled operated from 1909 to 1939, and the Encyclopedia of Chicago reports that the Chicago-based Associated Negro Press (1919–1964) was a subscription news agency “with correspondents and stringers in all major centers of Black population”.
Image courtesy of the Chicago Defender
In 1940, Chicago Defender Publisher John Sengstacke led Black newspaper publishers in forming the trade association known as the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
In August 1928, William Alexander Scott II founded the Atlanta World, In 1932, Scott renamed the publication the Atlanta Daily World, making it the first Black daily newspaper in the
United States. The Atlanta Daily World reported on “issues within the Black community including police brutality, segregation in schools, and lynchings,” according to its history. “By remaining somewhat neutral and taking a moderate Republican stance on topics in politics, the newspaper gains supporters even in Jim Crow Georgia and grows into one of the most successful Black-owned businesses in the country.” Scott was shot and killed outside of his home in 1934. No one was ever convicted of his murder. Scott also owned Black newspapers in Memphis
and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The chain of publications would eventually grow to 50 after his death. Black-owned newspapers were part of a surging national African American business community. The number of Black-owned businesses doubled from 20,000 in 1900 to 40,000 in 1914. By 1920, there were tens of thousands of Black businesses. Most were small business, however Black owned insurance companies were becoming large. Historian Juliet Walker called 1900–1930 the “Golden age of Black business.” The National Negro Bankers Association, the National Negro Press Association, the National Association of Negro Funeral Directors, the National Negro Bar Association, the National Association of Negro Insurance Men, the National Negro Retail Merchants’ Association, the National Association of Negro Real Estate Dealers, and the National Negro Finance Corporation were established during this period. On Nov. 6 1928, Oscar De Priest became the first Black American to represent a northern, urban district when he was elected to Congress representing the South Side of Chicago. He became the first Black American elected to Congress in the 20th century and the first Black Congressperson from the North. Something else happened in See American, D2
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