The Colored American Newspaper Launched, Amplifying Black Political Voice

John W. Cromwell founds The Colored American in Washington, D.C., one of dozens of Black newspapers founded during the Gilded Age that gave Black communities a national political voice. By 1900, over 150 Black-owned newspapers were in circulation across the U.S., collectively constituting what historians call the 'Black press' — the primary communications infrastructure of the race.