Afro-American Founded in 1893
The founding of The Afro-American in 1893, by W. M. Alexander marks the beginning of a paper which today figures most conspicuously in Negro Journalism. About 1896, the paper came into the hands of J. H. Murphy, Sr.,[5] who is now its managing editor at the age of eighty. More will be said of The Afro-American in connection with the chapter on Present Day Papers.
Leading Papers in 1897
A list of the leading Negro newspapers in America in 1897, compiled by J. T. Haley in his book Sparkling Gems of Race Knowledge, includes the following: The Colored American, Washington, D. C.; The New York Age; The Indianapolis Freeman; The Cleveland Gazette; The Boston Courant; The Richmond (Va.) Planet; The Huntsville (Ala.) Gazette; The Southern Age, Atlanta, Ga.; The Progress, Helena, Ark.; The Elevator, San Francisco, Cal.; The Colorado Statesman, Denver, Colo.; The Appeal, Chicago, Ill.; The Afro-American, Baltimore, Md., and The Denver (Colo.) Star.
Organization of Negro Correspondents
It would be improper to close a discussion of the period without mentioning the organizing of the “Associated Correspondents of Race Papers” on April 23, 1890. The object of the organization was to establish a better medium of communication from the capital. This step was perhaps the first real effort for unison among Negro newspapers, and marked a growing spirit of journalistic co-operation and interdependency.
[5] Murphy died in April, 1922, at the age of 80 years.
CHAPTER V
THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA (1900-⸺)
Journalism Becoming a Profession
Without doubt the first two decades of the twentieth century mark the highest progress in Negro Journalism. More papers have been established, and better papers have been produced. A realization of the power of the press has grown as the period of freedom has increased and race consciousness has been developed. More men with capital have invested in newspapers. Publishers and editors began for the first time to consider Journalism a profession from which a living could be derived.