BLACK MEDIA OUTLETS

Black media outlets have historically functioned as the primary architects of the Black theatrical canon, serving as critics, archivists, and promoters when mainstream white institutions ignored or caricatured Black life. 

From the abolitionist era to the present, these outlets ensured that Black stories were not just "told," but told with the nuance of the "insider’s gaze."

On March 16, 1827, the Freedom’s Journal newspaper was founded. It was the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States.

Started by a group of free Black men in New York City, the paper countered racist commentary published in the white press. As a four-page, four-column standard-sized weekly - Freedom’s Journal was established the same year slavery was abolished in New York State. Samuel E. Cornish and John B. Russwurm served as their senior and junior editors. The Journal consisted of news of current events, anecdotes, and editorials. It addressed contemporary issues such as slavery and "colonization," a concept conceived in 1816 to repatriate free Black people to Africa.

Initially opposed to colonization efforts, Freedom’s Journal denounced slavery, advocated for Black people’s political rights and the right to vote, and spoke out against lynchings. Freedom’s Journal provided its readers with regional, national, and international news that could entertain and educate them. It sought to improve conditions for the over 300,000 newly freed Black men and women living in the North. The newspaper broadened readers’ knowledge of the world by featuring articles on such countries as Haiti and Sierra Leone. As a paper of record, Freedom’s Journal published birth, death, and wedding announcements.

It featured biographies of renowned Black figures, such as Paul Cuffe, Touissant L’Ouverture, and poet Phyllis Wheatley, to encourage Black achievement. The paper also printed school, job, and housing listings. At various times, the newspaper employed 14 to 44 agents to collect and renew subscriptions, including David Walker from Boston, the writer of "David Walker’s Appeal," which called for slaves to rebel against their masters. Freedom’s Journal was soon circulated in 11 states, the District of Columbia, Haiti, Europe, and Canada—a typical advertisement costs 25 to 75 cents.

Following Cornish's resignation in September 1827, Russwurm became the sole editor of Freedom’s Journal and began promoting the colonization movement. Most of the newspaper’s readers did not support the paper’s radical shift in support of colonization, and in March 1829, Freedom’s Journal ceased publication. Freedom’s Journal’s two-year existence helped spawn other publications. By the start of the Civil War, over 40 Black-owned and operated papers had been established throughout America.

The first African American newspaper in Arkansas was the Arkansas Freeman, which began publication in Little Rock, Arkansas on August 21, 1869. Published and edited by Tabbs Gross, the newspaper was a groundbreaking voice for Black Arkansans, focusing on the Black community and advocating for their interests during a time when they were otherwise ignored by the local mucipality structures. Although short-lived, it paved the way for more than 100 Black news publications that followed in the state. d/SOULo/press will continue carrying the legacy of voicing the experiences and interests via an Arkansan man's soul.

FREEDOM’S JOURNAL

Freedom’s Journal established a “counter-narrative” protocol. The Black press provided a space to announces black news and performances during an era when black theatre often meant white actors in minstrelsy (blackface). The Black press announced performances by the African Grove Theatre—the first Black theater company in the U.S. They treated Black actors as serious artists rather than curiosities, creating a record of performance that established proof of Black intellectual and creative capability.

KRIGWA

W.E.B. Du Bois used the NAACP’s magazine, The Crisis, to launch “KRIGWA” in the 1920s. Du Bois famously used the magazine to outline the four fundamental principles of Black theatre: it must be “About us, by us, for us, and near us.” A sentiment that reigns supreme to date. They bypassed white-owned venues and established a literary standard for “folk play.”

EBONY & JET

During the mid-20th century, ‘Ebony’ and ‘Jet’ acted as the public relation machine for the Black Arts Movement. They turned stage actors into household names, bridging the gap between high-brow theater and the general public. Jet’s ‘Centerfold’ and ‘Ebony’s’ deep-dive features on plays like ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ or ‘Purlie Victorious’ gave Black theater “star power.” By featuring icons like Sidney Poitier or Ruby Dee on their covers, they signaled that the theater was a prestigious and essential part of the Black experience.