The Early Case for a National Black Press

Convention Coverage

While this exhibit focuses on North Star‘s coverage of the 1847 National Colored Convention, it is important to note that other newspapers, Black and white, took notice of such events and published pieces about them. Newspapers often reprinted other papers’ articles. The National Era, for example, reprinted a snippet from the Troy Telegraph, a little-known publication that has yet to be digitized. Likewise, William C. Nell’s report of the convention appeared in both The Liberator and North Star. Nineteenth-century reprinting practices extended the reach of Black voices.

Credits

Page contributed by Samantha de Vera, University of Delaware, Fall 2016.
Edited by Sarah Patterson and Gabrielle Foreman.