George Herriman was one of the first syndicated cartoonists of African descent. The son of mulatto Creole parents George Herriman Jr., a tailor, and the former Clara Morel, Herriman was born in New Orleans on August 22, 1880. At age ten, his family relocated to … Read MoreGeorge Joseph Herriman (1880-1944)
Simeon Saunders Booker Jr.’s innovative career in journalism transformed how African American readers engaged with news coverage of politics and social injustices. As the first African American reporter for the Washington Post, he provided insight into the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. On August … Read MoreSimeon S. Booker (1918-2017)
Architectural Drawing of the Chicago Bee Building, 1929 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” The Chicago Bee was an African American newspaper founded to compete with the Chicago Defender, then the largest black-owned newspaper in the United States. The Bee’s founder, banker, and food and cosmetics manufacturer, … Read MoreThe Chicago Bee (1926–1946)
Freedomways Cover, 1979 Image Ownership: Public Domain Freedomways was the central theoretical journal of the 20th century black arts and intellectual movement in the United States. From its opening issue in the spring of 1961, it invited historians, sociologists, economists, artists, workers, and students to … Read MoreFreedomways (1961-1985)
O Clarim da Alvorada (or Clarim d’Alvorada, the clarion of dawn) was a pioneer Afro–Brazilian newspaper established in 1924 and was key in strengthening the incipient black culture movement in the country. Part of a larger black press movement in the city of São Paulo, … Read MoreO Clarim da Alvorada (1924-1932)
Image Ownership: Public Domain The Chicago Defender was founded in 1905 by Robert Sengstacke Abbott. Abbott published the first issue, a run of 300 copies, on May 6, 1905. The Defender began as a four-page weekly handbill filled with local news and reproductions of clippings … Read MoreChicago Defender (1905- )
Ebony, a pictorial news magazine published by Chicago, Illinois-based Johnson Publishing Company, first appeared in November 1945. Created by John H. Johnson, who modeled his publication after Life magazine, Ebony celebrated African American life and culture by depicting the achievements of black Americans. It honored … Read MoreEbony Magazine
Although the facts regarding his birthplace and biological parents are inconclusive, Countee Cullen’s formative years were spent in New York City. The adopted son of Reverend Dr. Frederick A. Cullen, pastor of Salem Methodist Episcopal Church and president of the Harlem branch of the National … Read MoreCountee Cullen (1903-1946)