Black Press Expands to 500+ Newspapers, Building National Information Network

The early twentieth century saw explosive growth in the Black press. The Chicago Defender (1905), Pittsburgh Courier (1907), Baltimore Afro-American, and hundreds of local papers created a national information infrastructure that served communities excluded from white media. Black newspapers documented lynchings ignored by the white press, reported on civil rights victories and defeats, published investigative journalism about racial violence, and provided a platform for Black political thought. The white press systematically ignored or misrepresented events in Black communities; the Black press filled the gap and created a counter-narrative.