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March 1853

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Achievement · literature
Mary Ann Shadd Cary Becomes First Black Woman Newspaper Editor in North America

Mary Ann Shadd Cary founded and edited the Provincial Freeman in Ontario, Canada, becoming the first Black woman to found and edit a newspaper in North America. An ardent abolitionist and advocate for Black self-reliance and emigration to Canada, she used the paper to argue against colonization schemes and champion integration and equal rights.

Events

  1. March 1853
    Mary Ann Shadd Cary Becomes First Black Woman Newspaper Editor in North America

    Mary Ann Shadd Cary founded and edited the Provincial Freeman in Ontario, Canada, becoming the first Black woman to found and edit a newspaper in North America. An ardent abolitionist and advocate for Black self-reliance and emigration to Canada, she used the paper to argue against colonization schemes and champion integration and equal rights.

  2. March 1853
    Mary Ann Shadd Cary Founds the Provincial Freeman

    Mary Ann Shadd Cary launched the Provincial Freeman in Windsor, Ontario, becoming the first Black woman editor of a newspaper in North America. The paper advocated for Black emigration to Canada after the Fugitive Slave Act and promoted self-reliance over dependence on white philanthropy. Shadd Cary battled both racial and gender prejudice to keep the paper running through the 1850s.