AMST 3221 & 3222: Hands-On Public History. Black Newspapers

The following databases include Black newspapers from around 1860-1920 (and more). Use advanced search features to limit searches by date, location, and other criteria. 

African American Newspapers Series 1 & 2 
Provides online access to more than 350 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African-American experience. This unique collection, which includes historically significant papers from more than 35 states, features many rare 19th-century titles. The link will take you to a larger collection, America's Historical Newspapers, with these two series of newspapers selected. 

ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers 
A subset of the larger ProQuest Historical Newspapers, this is a collection of several prominent black newspapers including the Chicago Defender, Norfolk Journal and Guide, Pittsburgh Courier, Baltimore Afro-American, and NY Amsterdam News.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Philadelphia Tribune
The oldest continuously published black newspaper, is dedicated to the needs and concerns of the fourth largest black community in the U.S. During the 1930s the paper supported the growth of the United Way, rallied against the riots in Chester, PA, and continuously fought against segregation. Coverage is from 1912-2001.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Atlanta Daily World 
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers, and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society, and events of the time. Coverage is from 1931-2003.

Virginia Chronicle - African American Newspapers 
Virginia Chronicle is the Library of Virginia's online newspaper database and repository, and contains over 46,000 individual issues totaling nearly 300,000 pages. A subset of the titles available are Black newspapers, including: Afro-American Churchman, People's Journal, Reformer, Richmond Planet, Staunton Reporter, Staunton Tribune, and True Southerner, among others. 

African-American Historical Serials features 173 periodicals spanning from 1816 through 1922. The periodicals in this collection include newspapers and magazines, in addition to reports and annuals from various African American organizations, including churches and educational and service institutions.

The links below should take you directly to browse/search features for listed titles. If you know of a particular newspaper that you'd like to search through that is not included in this list, please check for access to the title in Virgo, or reach out to Sherri or Chris (information on left) for help. 

Alexandria, VA

People's Advocate 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1
• Dates available: April 1876 - September 1876

Berryville, VA

People's Journal 

• In database: Virginia Chronicle 
• Dates available: Various months 1899-1927 

Boydton, VA

Midland Express 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1
• Dates available: March 03, 1893 only

Charlottesville, VA

Charlottesville Reflector

• Select transcribed articles available from the Virginia Center for Digital History Race & Place digital collection 
• Dates available : August 19, 1933- September 7, 1935

Hampton, VA

True Southerner 

• In database: Virginia Chronicle
• Dates available: November 1865 - April 1866

Norfolk, VA 

New Journal and Guide 

• In Database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers
• Dates available: September 1916 - December 2003 

Petersburg, VA

Afro-American Churchman 

• In database: Virginia Chronicle 
• Dates available: July 1886 -  September 1890 

National Pilot 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1
• Dates available: February 1, 1900 only 

Richmond, VA 

Reformer 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1
  • Dates available: January 27, 1900 only 
• In database: Virginia Chronicle 
  • Dates available: January 19, 1897 only 

Richmond Planet 

• In database: America's Historical Newspapers
  • Dates available: February 1885 - December 1916 
• In database: Virginia Chronicle 
  • Dates available: 1889 - 1930

Southern News 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 2
• Dates Available: October 15, 1892 only  

Virginia Star

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 2
• Dates Available: May 1878 - December 1882

Staunton, VA 

Staunton Reporter 

• In database: Virginia Chronicle 
• Dates available: July 8, 1916 & July 29, 1916 only 

Staunton Tribune

• In database: Virginia Chronicle 
• Dates available: September 1, 1894 only
  
  

Looking for access to more Virginia newspapers? The Library of Virginia provides a Virginia Newspaper Directory that can be searched by county or city, or you can choose a category of newspaper including African American Newspapers. See also the helpful Library of Virginia guide on Virginia African American Newspapers. 

Far from an exhaustive list, these papers, although not based in Virginia, may include news about events/happenings in Virginia. If you know of a particular newspaper that you'd like to search through that is not included in this list, please check for access to the title in Virgo, or reach out to Sherri or Chris (information on left) for help. 

Georgia

   Savannah Tribune (Savannah, GA)

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1  
• Dates available: December 1875 - December 1922

Illinois 

Broad Ax (Chicago, IL) 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1  
• Dates available: June 1899 - September 1927

The Chicago Defender (Big Weekend Edition) (Chicago, IL) 

• In database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers 
• Dates available: July 1909 - March 1921

The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (Chicago, IL) 

• In database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers 
• Dates available: April 1921 - December 1967

Indiana

Freeman (Indianapolis, IN) 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1 
• Dates available: July 1888 - December 1916

Louisiana

Southwestern Christian Advocate (New Orleans, LA) 

• In database: African American Historical Serials Collection 
• Dates available: January 1877 - December 1911

Maryland

Afro-American (Baltimore, MD)

• In database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers 
• Dates available: April 1893 - February 1988 

New York 

National Anti-Slavery Standard (New York, NY)

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 2 
• Dates available: June 1840 - December 1871 

New York Age (New York, NY) 

• In database: America's Historical Newspapers
• Dates available: October 1887 - December 1953

The New York Amsterdam News (New York, NY)

• In database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers 
• Dates available: November 1922 - August 1938 

Ohio

Cleveland Gazette (Cleveland, OH) 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1  
• Dates available: August 1883 - May 1945 

Pennsylvania 

The Christian Recorder (Philadelphia, PA)

• In database: Accessible Archives 
• Dates available: July 1854 - June 1868 

Philadelphia Tribune (Philadelphia, PA) 

• In database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Philadelphia Tribune 
• Dates available: January 1912 - December 2001 

The Pittsburgh Courier, City Edition (Pittsburgh, PA) 

• In database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers 
• Dates available: March 1911 - August 1950 

Washington, D.C. 

(The) Colored American 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1  
• Dates available: March 1898 - November 1904

Washington Bee (The Bee) 

• In database: African American Newspapers, Series 1  
• Dates available: June 1882 - January 1922 

Ebony Magazine Archive covers civil rights, education, entrepreneurship and other social topics with an African-American focus. It includes more than 800 issues providing a broad view of African-American culture from its first issue in 1945 through 2014

Black Life in America is a primary source collection that offers an expansive window into centuries of African American history, culture and daily life—as well as the ways the dominant culture has portrayed and perceived people of African descent. The content in this database is sourced from more than 19,000 American and global news sources, including over 400 current and historical Black publications.

HistoryMakers Digital Archive includes around 150,000 stories assembled h from life oral history interviews with 2,700 historically significant African Americans including politicians, religious leaders, athletes, musicians, civil rights activists, soldiers, and many more.

Colored Conventions Project is a digital humanities interdisciplinary research hub that uses digital tools to bring the buried history of nineteenth-century Black organizing to life. The site features hundreds of primary sources from the conventions movement. Primary sources include minutes, proceedings, newspaper articles, speeches, letters, transcripts, and images. The digital collections are organized by year, type, and region. Many primary sources have been transcribed and are keyword searchable. Mirroring the collective nature of the nineteenth-century Colored Conventions, CCP uses inclusive partnerships to locate, transcribe, and archive the documentary record related to this nearly forgotten history and to curate engaging digital exhibits that highlight its significant events and theme.