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Baltimore Afro-American

February 01, 2023

The Baltimore Afro-American, commonly known as The Afro or Afro News, is a weekly African-American newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the flagship newspaper of the AFRO-American chain and the longest-running African-American family-owned newspaper in the United States, established in 1892.[2][3]

The AFRO American Newspaper Company
Type
  • Weekly (print)
  • Daily (online)
FormatBroadsheet
PublisherFrances M. Draper
Managing editorRev. Dorothy S. Boulware
News editorJessica Dortch[1]
Founded13 August 1892
(130 years ago) (1892-08-13)
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters
CountryUnited States
ISSN2473-5973
OCLC number7642696
Websiteafro.com

History

 
Nameplate of The Afro-American Ledger, September 6, 1913

Initially the Afro-American was known as the Home Protector which was established and edited by Reverend William Alexander in 1889. With the help of a group of investors, including John R. Cole, Charles H. Richardson, James E. Johnson, and William H. Daly, the Home Protector became the Afro-American on August 13, 1892. In the spring of 1895, the Northwestern Family Supply Company (NFSC), assumed control of the Afro-American. Although this seemed to be a turn for the best, that prominent business firm went bankrupt leading to near end of the newspaper. In 1897, the machinery used to print the Afro-American went up for sale. John H. Murphy Sr., then the head of the printing press at the paper, purchased the newspaper's printing equipment for $200, which he borrowed from his wife, Martha Howard Murphy. Since then, the Afro-American has been owned and operated by the Murphy family.[4]

John H. Murphy Sr. was born into slavery and served in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops, reaching the rank of sergeant (NCO). He worked a variety of jobs after the war. Active with the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, a denomination founded in the early 19th century in Philadelphia as the first independent Black religion in the United States. Murphy merged his church publication, The Sunday School Helper, with two other church publications, The Ledger and The Afro-American. With The Afro-American, Murphy promoted unity in the Black community of Baltimore, as well as combating racial discrimination in the city and working for children's education. "He crusaded for racial justice while exposing racism in education, jobs, housing and public accommodations. In 1913, he was elected president of the National Negro Press Association."[5]

In 1905, the Afro-American urged its readers to vote against the Poe Amendment, a piece of legislation meant to disenfranchise black voters.[6] When the Strauss Amendment followed in 1908, the paper persisted, attacking advocates of the amendment.[7]

The publication began to grow to reach more cities and to rise in national prominence after his son Carl J. Murphy took control in 1922, serving as its editor for 45 years. He expanded the paper to have nine national editions, with papers published in 13 major cities. At its peak, the paper published two weekly editions in Baltimore[8] and regional weekly editions in cities including Washington, DC; Philadelphia; Richmond, Virginia; and Newark, New Jersey, the latter a destination northern city for many Blacks from the rural South during the Great Migration to the North in the first half of the 20th century. In the early 21st century, the AFRO-American has two city editions: one in Baltimore, and the other for Washington, D.C.[9]

During the 1924 presidential election, the Afro-American threw their support behind the Progressives established at the Baltimore Federation of Labor Offices and led by Elisabeth Coit Gilman and Broadus Mitchell.[10]

Through the summer of 1932, the Baltimore AFRO-American published revealing personal letters from prominent African-American scientist and Howard University professor Percy Lavon Julian.[11] This led to a scandal and the pressure forced Julian to resign from Howard.[12]

Carl Murphy used the editorial pages of The AFRO-American to push for the hiring of African Americans by Baltimore's police and fire departments; to press for Black representation in the legislature; and for the establishment of a state supported university to educate African Americans.[13]

In the 1930s The AFRO-American launched a successful campaign known as “The Clean Block” campaign which is still in existence today. The campaign developed into an annual event and was aimed at improving the appearance of, and reducing crime in, inner-city neighborhoods. The AFRO-American also campaigned against the Southern Railroad's use of Jim Crow cars, and fought to obtain equal pay for Maryland's Black schoolteachers.

During World War II, The AFRO-American deployed several of its reporters to Europe, the Aleutians, Africa, Japan, and other parts of the South Pacific, and provided its readers with firsthand coverage of the war. One of its reporters (and Carl Murphy's daughter), Elizabeth Murphy Phillips Moss, was the first Black female correspondent.

The AFRO-American collaborated with The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on numerous civil rights cases. In the 1950s the newspaper joined forces with the NAACP in the latter's suit against the University of Maryland Law School for its segregationist admission policies. Their combined efforts eventually led to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision outlawing segregated public schools. The AFRO-American also supported actor/singer Paul Robeson and sociologist W.E.B. DuBois during the anti-Communist campaigns of the Joseph McCarthy era.

The AFRO-American has employed many notable Black journalists and intellectuals including Langston Hughes, William Worthy and J. Saunders Redding. In the mid 1930s it became the first Black newspaper to employ a female sportswriter when it hired Lillian Johnson and Nell Dodson to serve on its staff. Renowned artist Romare Bearden began his career as a cartoonist at The AFRO-American in 1936.

Sam Lacy, who was hired as the paper's sports editor in 1943 and who, at the age of 94, still wrote a weekly column for the paper, used his weekly ” A to Z” column to campaign for integration in professional sports. Using their writing to protest racial inequities in professional sports, Lacy and sports writers such as Wendell Smith of The Pittsburgh Courier helped to open doors for Black athletes. Following the death of Carl Murphy in 1967, his daughter Frances L. Murphy II served as chairman and publisher. In 1974, John Murphy III, Carl's nephew, was appointed chairman and eventually became the publisher.

Both John H. Murphy Sr. and his son Carl J. Murphy have been posthumously inducted into the MDDC Press Association's Hall of Fame in recognition of their contributions to journalism and publishing, in 2008[5] and 2015,[14] respectively.

Today the AFRO is led by 4th and 5th generation descendants of John H. Murphy Sr. It is in partnership with the Strategic Communications and Journalism Departments of Morgan State University's School of Global Journalism and Communication to provide real-time experience for those who would be journalists and/or public relations specialists.

University collaborative archival project

In November 2007, five students were selected from Baltimore institutions, Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University and Goucher College, to begin work under an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant "to uncover and describe the content" of the newspaper's archives, held at its headquarters. These included manuscripts, articles, photographs, and clippings that date to the founding of the paper. "The objectives of the project are to identify important unprocessed collections at the newspaper, inventory and organize the collection, and ultimately create an online database for searching the material."[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Issue of Afro-American Newspaper". November 28, 2015.
  2. ^ . Johns Hopkins University Library. Archived from the original on February 15, 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2008.
  3. ^ Farrar, Hayward (May 30, 1998). The Baltimore AFRO-American: 1892–1950. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30517-X.
  4. ^ Cruse, Jonelle E.; Joseph, Chantale J. "Summary of the Afro American Newspaper". Maryland State Archives. Maryland State Archives. from the original on May 12, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "John Henry Murphy Sr., MDDC Hall of Fame Class of 2008: AFRO-American's John H. Murphy Sr."[permanent dead link], MDDC Press Association. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  6. ^ Walsh, Richard; Fox, William Lloyd (1983). Maryland, a history. Annapolis, Md: Hall of Records Commission, Dept. of General Services. p. 614. OCLC 10691842.
  7. ^ Walsh, Richard; Fox, William Lloyd (1983). Maryland, a history. Annapolis, Md: Hall of Records Commission, Dept. of General Services. p. 648. OCLC 10691842.
  8. ^ Writers' Program of the Works Projects Administration in the State of Maryland (1940). Maryland: a Guide to the Old Line State. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 113. ISBN 9780801818745. OCLC 814094.
  9. ^ a b Rienzi, Greg (March 17, 2008). "Mining the 'Afro-American' Archives". The Gazette. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University.[dead link]
  10. ^ Brugger, Robert J. (1988). Maryland, a middle temperament. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 492. ISBN 9780801833991. OCLC 17650698.
  11. ^ "Julian Letters Draw A Veil From H.U." The AFRO American. June 4, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  12. ^ "NOVA: Forgotten Genius". Nova (American TV series). Retrieved February 13, 2007.
  13. ^ Brugger, Robert J. (1988). Maryland, a middle temperament. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 568. ISBN 9780801833991. OCLC 17650698.
  14. ^ Video Narrator, Ben Phillips, grandson: "Carl J. Murphy, Publisher, The AFRO-American Newspapers", 2015 inductee, MDDC Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 23, 2016.

Further reading

  • Farrar, Hayward (May 21, 1998). The Baltimore Afro-American: 1892–1950 (Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies: Contemporary Black Poets) (Hardcover). ISBN 0-313-30517-X. ISBN 978-0313305177.

External links

  • Official website
  • Digitized photos from The Afro-American archives
  • Digitized, searchable issues of The Afro-American Ledger (Jan 5, 1906 – Jun 30, 1917, 286 issues)

February 01, 2023
baltimore, afro, american, commonly, known, afro, afro, news, weekly, african, american, newspaper, published, baltimore, maryland, flagship, newspaper, afro, american, chain, longest, running, african, american, family, owned, newspaper, united, states, estab. The Baltimore Afro American commonly known as The Afro or Afro News is a weekly African American newspaper published in Baltimore Maryland It is the flagship newspaper of the AFRO American chain and the longest running African American family owned newspaper in the United States established in 1892 2 3 The AFRO American Newspaper CompanyTypeWeekly print Daily online FormatBroadsheetPublisherFrances M DraperManaging editorRev Dorothy S BoulwareNews editorJessica Dortch 1 Founded13 August 1892 130 years ago 1892 08 13 LanguageEnglishHeadquarters145 W Ostend StreetSuite 600 Office 536Baltimore Maryland 21230CountryUnited StatesISSN2473 5973OCLC number7642696Websiteafro wbr comMedia of the United StatesList of newspapers Contents 1 History 2 University collaborative archival project 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksHistory EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Nameplate of The Afro American Ledger September 6 1913 Initially the Afro American was known as the Home Protector which was established and edited by Reverend William Alexander in 1889 With the help of a group of investors including John R Cole Charles H Richardson James E Johnson and William H Daly the Home Protector became the Afro American on August 13 1892 In the spring of 1895 the Northwestern Family Supply Company NFSC assumed control of the Afro American Although this seemed to be a turn for the best that prominent business firm went bankrupt leading to near end of the newspaper In 1897 the machinery used to print the Afro American went up for sale John H Murphy Sr then the head of the printing press at the paper purchased the newspaper s printing equipment for 200 which he borrowed from his wife Martha Howard Murphy Since then the Afro American has been owned and operated by the Murphy family 4 John H Murphy Sr was born into slavery and served in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops reaching the rank of sergeant NCO He worked a variety of jobs after the war Active with the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore a denomination founded in the early 19th century in Philadelphia as the first independent Black religion in the United States Murphy merged his church publication The Sunday School Helper with two other church publications The Ledger and The Afro American With The Afro American Murphy promoted unity in the Black community of Baltimore as well as combating racial discrimination in the city and working for children s education He crusaded for racial justice while exposing racism in education jobs housing and public accommodations In 1913 he was elected president of the National Negro Press Association 5 In 1905 the Afro American urged its readers to vote against the Poe Amendment a piece of legislation meant to disenfranchise black voters 6 When the Strauss Amendment followed in 1908 the paper persisted attacking advocates of the amendment 7 The publication began to grow to reach more cities and to rise in national prominence after his son Carl J Murphy took control in 1922 serving as its editor for 45 years He expanded the paper to have nine national editions with papers published in 13 major cities At its peak the paper published two weekly editions in Baltimore 8 and regional weekly editions in cities including Washington DC Philadelphia Richmond Virginia and Newark New Jersey the latter a destination northern city for many Blacks from the rural South during the Great Migration to the North in the first half of the 20th century In the early 21st century the AFRO American has two city editions one in Baltimore and the other for Washington D C 9 During the 1924 presidential election the Afro American threw their support behind the Progressives established at the Baltimore Federation of Labor Offices and led by Elisabeth Coit Gilman and Broadus Mitchell 10 Through the summer of 1932 the Baltimore AFRO American published revealing personal letters from prominent African American scientist and Howard University professor Percy Lavon Julian 11 This led to a scandal and the pressure forced Julian to resign from Howard 12 Carl Murphy used the editorial pages of The AFRO American to push for the hiring of African Americans by Baltimore s police and fire departments to press for Black representation in the legislature and for the establishment of a state supported university to educate African Americans 13 In the 1930s The AFRO American launched a successful campaign known as The Clean Block campaign which is still in existence today The campaign developed into an annual event and was aimed at improving the appearance of and reducing crime in inner city neighborhoods The AFRO American also campaigned against the Southern Railroad s use of Jim Crow cars and fought to obtain equal pay for Maryland s Black schoolteachers During World War II The AFRO American deployed several of its reporters to Europe the Aleutians Africa Japan and other parts of the South Pacific and provided its readers with firsthand coverage of the war One of its reporters and Carl Murphy s daughter Elizabeth Murphy Phillips Moss was the first Black female correspondent The AFRO American collaborated with The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP on numerous civil rights cases In the 1950s the newspaper joined forces with the NAACP in the latter s suit against the University of Maryland Law School for its segregationist admission policies Their combined efforts eventually led to the U S Supreme Court s 1954 decision outlawing segregated public schools The AFRO American also supported actor singer Paul Robeson and sociologist W E B DuBois during the anti Communist campaigns of the Joseph McCarthy era The AFRO American has employed many notable Black journalists and intellectuals including Langston Hughes William Worthy and J Saunders Redding In the mid 1930s it became the first Black newspaper to employ a female sportswriter when it hired Lillian Johnson and Nell Dodson to serve on its staff Renowned artist Romare Bearden began his career as a cartoonist at The AFRO American in 1936 Sam Lacy who was hired as the paper s sports editor in 1943 and who at the age of 94 still wrote a weekly column for the paper used his weekly A to Z column to campaign for integration in professional sports Using their writing to protest racial inequities in professional sports Lacy and sports writers such as Wendell Smith of The Pittsburgh Courier helped to open doors for Black athletes Following the death of Carl Murphy in 1967 his daughter Frances L Murphy II served as chairman and publisher In 1974 John Murphy III Carl s nephew was appointed chairman and eventually became the publisher Both John H Murphy Sr and his son Carl J Murphy have been posthumously inducted into the MDDC Press Association s Hall of Fame in recognition of their contributions to journalism and publishing in 2008 5 and 2015 14 respectively Today the AFRO is led by 4th and 5th generation descendants of John H Murphy Sr It is in partnership with the Strategic Communications and Journalism Departments of Morgan State University s School of Global Journalism and Communication to provide real time experience for those who would be journalists and or public relations specialists University collaborative archival project EditIn November 2007 five students were selected from Baltimore institutions Johns Hopkins University Morgan State University and Goucher College to begin work under an Andrew W Mellon Foundation grant to uncover and describe the content of the newspaper s archives held at its headquarters These included manuscripts articles photographs and clippings that date to the founding of the paper The objectives of the project are to identify important unprocessed collections at the newspaper inventory and organize the collection and ultimately create an online database for searching the material 9 See also Edit Maryland portal United States portal Journalism portalMedia in Baltimore List of newspapers in MarylandReferences Edit Issue of Afro American Newspaper November 28 2015 Baltimore City Newspapers Johns Hopkins University Library Archived from the original on February 15 2008 Retrieved April 3 2008 Farrar Hayward May 30 1998 The Baltimore AFRO American 1892 1950 Greenwood Press ISBN 0 313 30517 X Cruse Jonelle E Joseph Chantale J Summary of the Afro American Newspaper Maryland State Archives Maryland State Archives Archived from the original on May 12 2016 Retrieved January 13 2021 a b John Henry Murphy Sr MDDC Hall of Fame Class of 2008 AFRO American s John H Murphy Sr permanent dead link MDDC Press Association Retrieved March 23 2016 Walsh Richard Fox William Lloyd 1983 Maryland a history Annapolis Md Hall of Records Commission Dept of General Services p 614 OCLC 10691842 Walsh Richard Fox William Lloyd 1983 Maryland a history Annapolis Md Hall of Records Commission Dept of General Services p 648 OCLC 10691842 Writers Program of the Works Projects Administration in the State of Maryland 1940 Maryland a Guide to the Old Line State New York Oxford University Press p 113 ISBN 9780801818745 OCLC 814094 a b Rienzi Greg March 17 2008 Mining the Afro American Archives The Gazette Baltimore Johns Hopkins University dead link Brugger Robert J 1988 Maryland a middle temperament Baltimore Md Johns Hopkins University Press p 492 ISBN 9780801833991 OCLC 17650698 Julian Letters Draw A Veil From H U The AFRO American June 4 1932 p 1 Retrieved April 14 2014 NOVA Forgotten Genius Nova American TV series Retrieved February 13 2007 Brugger Robert J 1988 Maryland a middle temperament Baltimore Md Johns Hopkins University Press p 568 ISBN 9780801833991 OCLC 17650698 Video Narrator Ben Phillips grandson Carl J Murphy Publisher The AFRO American Newspapers 2015 inductee MDDC Hall of Fame Retrieved March 23 2016 Further reading EditFarrar Hayward May 21 1998 The Baltimore Afro American 1892 1950 Contributions in Afro American and African Studies Contemporary Black Poets Hardcover ISBN 0 313 30517 X ISBN 978 0313305177 External links EditOfficial website Digitized photos from The Afro American archives Digitized searchable issues of The Afro American Ledger Jan 5 1906 Jun 30 1917 286 issues Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Baltimore Afro American amp oldid 1133303663, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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