Chicago Defender Reaches 250,000 National Circulation, Spurring Great Migration

By the early 1920s, The Chicago Defender—founded by Robert Abbott—had a national circulation of over 250,000, reaching Black readers across the country and actively encouraging migration from the South. The Pittsburgh Courier, Baltimore Afro-American, and Norfolk Journal and Guide similarly expanded, creating a national Black public sphere circulating political commentary, cultural criticism, and news unavailable in white-owned press.