The Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, grew into the most famous and prosperous black urban community in the United States during the early 1900s. Dubbed the “Negro Wall Street” by educator Booker T. Washington, this community had a flourishing population that included both a working … Read MoreDeep Greenwood (Tulsa), Oklahoma (1906- )
Freedom’s Journal was the first African American owned and operated newspaper in the United States. A weekly four column publication printed every Friday, Freedom’s Journal was founded by free born African Americans John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish on March 16, 1827 in New York City, … Read MoreFreedom’s Journal (1827-1829)
Benjamin Pelham was a powerful Detroit politician and journalist. He was the Wayne County accountant from 1906 until 1942 and the proprietor and editor of the first successful black newspaper in Detroit, the Plaindealer. Pelham, the youngest of six children born to Robert Pelham, a … Read MoreBenjamin Pelham (1862-1948)
The Pittsburgh Courier was established in 1907 by Edwin Harleston, an aspiring writer and security guard at the H.J. Heinz food packing plant. The Courier achieved national prominence after attorney Robert Lee Vann joined the newspaper in 1910. Vann’s original position at the Courier was … Read MorePittsburgh Courier (1907- )
The African Blood Brotherhood for African Liberation and Redemption (ABB) was a militant black liberation group founded in 1919 by West Indian journalist Cyril Briggs. The ABB advocated armed defense against racist assaults and the creation of an independent black socialist commonwealth. It sought to … Read MoreAfrican Blood Brotherhood (1919-1924)
Founded in 1920, The Northwest Enterprise served an important role in supporting and maintaining an emerging African American community in Seattle, Washington and throughout the Northwest. The newspaper served its community in five specific ways: visibility, success, support of black institutions, community leadership, and resistance. … Read MoreNorthwest Enterprise (1920-1954?)
The League of Struggle for Negro Rights (LSNR) was the primary civil rights organization of the American Communist Party (CP) during the early-to-mid 1930s. Founded in St. Louis in 1930 after the dissolution of the American Negro Labor Congress, the group established regional branches throughout … Read MoreLeague of Struggle for Negro Rights (1930-1936)
