DOCSLIB.ORG

The Representation of Black Women in the Harlem Riots of 1943 and 1964

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Representation of Black Women in the Harlem Riots of 1943 and 1964 The representation of black women in the Harlem riots of 1943 and 1964 A comparative analysis Alessandra Galiani Independent degree project Main field of study: History Credits: 15 hp Semester/Year: Fall 2020 Supervisor: Christian Gerdov Examiner: Per Sörlin Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2 2. Problem statement and guiding questions ........................................................................ 6 3. Primary sources ..................................................................................................................... 7 4. Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 10 5. Theory ................................................................................................................................... 12 6. Literature review ................................................................................................................. 14 7. The role of representation .................................................................................................. 16 8. Why the Harlem riots ......................................................................................................... 22 9. African American women between the 1940s and the 1960s ........................................ 26 10. The representation of the black women in the Harlem riot of 1943 ........................... 36 11. The representation of the black women in the Harlem riot of 1964 ........................... 45 12. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 53 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 55 1 1. Introduction African American uprisings seem never to get out of fashion. It is the summer of 2020 and the past weeks have seen the United States swept out by one riot after another. Not the United States only; the whole world has experienced a domino effect of demonstrations and revolts to address systemic brutality against people of colour, especially in America. These new waves of protests seem to show that the world may have become ready to embrace the cause of the American black population and its claim for racial justice. Yet, even if the echo of the cry for racial justice resounds the world over as never before, the history of American riots as a response to systemic violence at the expense of black people is anything but new; it is almost as long as the African American experience itself. Even if demonstrating in different eras and historical circumstances have produced disparate outcomes, taking to the streets in order to claim respect and equality has been a constant in the black American history, even though many strategies and aspects have changed throughout time. Among those aspects, the use of technology and the ability to reach out to a vast audience via social media figure as positive and crucial. Another essential key to read the development of African American protest is the role of women, how it has evolved and the controversy that it still bears. The role of the African American woman as spokesperson and representative of the black community has grown with time; she has become the protagonist and ambassador of new strategies of communication.1 The death of George Floyd that has caused worldwide demonstrations in 2020 has come to the people’s knowledge thanks to the testimony of a quick young African American woman who shot the video and spread it to the entire world via social media; crowds 1 Two of the most popular Human Rights campaigns of the 2010s that have spread worldwide thanks to social media have been founded by African American women: the #metoo campaign against sexual harassment was founded by Tarana Burke; the Black Lives Matter campaign was founded by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors. 2 have been inflamed by the articulated speech of Tamika Mallory, a black woman who has embodied the spirit of the protest and whose public address has gone viral and has been acclaimed worldwide; the first statue dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement represents a proud black woman, the activist Jen Reid. If we were to stop here, the representation of black females involved in the riots we would get would be that of fierce, knowledgeable, leading women; and that would mean looking at one side only. While it is undeniable that some women are taking the lead in the protests that urge the unequal treatment towards black people to come to an end, an increasing group of black feminists is, in fact, lifting the issue of how all the attention gathers around black male victims, leaving black female victims in the shadow. Black feminists have brought to the public attention the case of Breonna Taylor, an innocent black woman killed in her apartment by the police. They wonder why the killing of a black man can raise hell, but not the killing of a black woman. In an experiment conducted at a TED conference, scholar and activist Kimberlé Crenshaw asked the audience to stand up when they recognized the name of a black person who had fallen victim of police brutality. While the pictures and the names of black males rang the bell, the pictures and names of black women were unknown to all the people sitting there, with one or two exceptions. Who is rioting for African American women?2 Crenshaw’s theory is that we do not take those women into consideration, because we do not see them, they are not represented, whereas men are. The double standard that black women are subjected to, due to their belonging to two overlapping minority groups, has been first analysed by Crenshaw in the 1980s and has been named intersectionality: being discriminated for being black and for being a woman intersect, thus putting black women in a situation of double 2 https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality 3 jeopardy.3 The main point of the intersectionality theory is that black women have been historically excluded by the women’s movements on one side and the black movement on the other, thus remaining behind in terms of social conquests.4 What black feminist groups claim is that a fair visibility of black women be offered, complaining the fact that too often black women have remained invisible or unheard or that the black woman’s image has been represented in a distorted way, thus mining her opportunities to be seen and consequently to have access to the means that provide her social growth. These demands have in the past months been embodied in a movement called #SayHerName. The sharp contrast between the representation of few fierce black women on the one hand, and the lack of representation of a crowd of invisible women on the other hand can raise questions about the role of African American women in historical riots. Therefore, the main idea of this dissertation is to deliver a description of the representation of black women involved in two different riots in the renowned black neighbourhood of Harlem at two turning points in American history: the first one in 1943, in the middle of World War II, and the second one right after the approval of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This study attempts to see how the media wanted black women to be perceived by the American readers, how much attention they got, and if they fitted in a stereotype or not. The thesis is structured as follows: In the first place, I will clarify the goal of this dissertation and present the sources, the methodology and the theory that have been used to carry out the study, together with a brief overview of the body of works that have previously considered the representation of black women. 3 Cho, Sumi, Crenshaw Williams, Kimberlé & McCall Leslie, Toward a Field of Intersectionality Studies: Theory, Applications, and Praxis in Signs , Vol. 38, No. 4, Intersectionality: Theorizing Power, Empowering Theory (Summer 2013), pp. 785-810 4 Carastathis, Anna, Intersectionality. Origin, Contestation, Horizons, University of Nebraska Press, 2016, pg. 16 4 In the second place, I will clarify the importance of representation, the role of stereotypes, and how they can affect popular imagery and consequently lead to the increment of discrimination. In the third place, I will give a historical overview of the changes that black women underwent between the Forties and the Sixties and how their role dwindled during those years; in addition, I will offer an explanation as to why I have chosen Harlem, the riots and those specific historical moments as valid references to measure the quality of black women’s representation. I will then display the sources that I have found and I will make a comparative analysis of the description of black women in the Harlem riot of 1943 first, and in 1964 then, and see if their depiction has changed throughout time following the parameters given in the previous chapters. As a conclusion, I will analyse whether the female images that we have left from those riots can have contributed to the stereotypes that have negatively affected the black woman experience and how a different representation can turn into a positive change in society. 5 2. Problem statement and guiding questions This dissertation aims at analysing the representation of black women that took part in the Harlem riots of 1943
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Negroes Are Different in Dixie: the Press, Perception, and Negro League Baseball in the Jim Crow South, 1932 by Thomas Aiello Research Essay ______
    NEGROES ARE DIFFERENT IN DIXIE: THE PRESS, PERCEPTION, AND NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL IN THE JIM CROW SOUTH, 1932 BY THOMAS AIELLO RESEARCH ESSAY ______________________________________________ “Only in a Negro newspaper can a complete coverage of ALL news effecting or involving Negroes be found,” argued a Southern Newspaper Syndicate advertisement. “The good that Negroes do is published in addition to the bad, for only by printing everything fit to read can a correct impression of the Negroes in any community be found.”1 Another argued that, “When it comes to Negro newspapers you can’t measure Birmingham or Atlanta or Memphis Negroes by a New York or Chicago Negro yardstick.” In a brief section titled “Negroes Are Different in Dixie,” the Syndicate’s evaluation of the Southern and Northern black newspaper readers was telling: Northern Negroes may ordain it indecent to read a Negro newspaper more than once a week—but the Southern Negro is more consolidated. Necessity has occasioned this condition. Most Southern white newspapers exclude Negro items except where they are infamous or of a marked ridiculous trend… While his northern brother is busily engaged in ‘getting white’ and ruining racial consciousness, the Southerner has become more closely knit.2 The advertisement was designed to announce and justify the Atlanta World’s reformulation as the Atlanta Daily World, making it the first African-American daily. This fact alone probably explains the advertisement’s “indecent” comment, but its “necessity” argument seems far more legitimate.3 For example, the 1932 Monroe Morning World, a white daily from Monroe, Louisiana, provided coverage of the black community related almost entirely to crime and church meetings.
    [Show full text]
  • Race, Riots, and Public Space in Harlem, 1900-1935
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works School of Arts & Sciences Theses Hunter College Spring 5-9-2017 The Breath Seekers: Race, Riots, and Public Space in Harlem, 1900-1935 Allyson Compton CUNY Hunter College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/166 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] The Breath Seekers: Race, Riots, and Public Space in Harlem, 1900-1935 by Allyson Compton Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History, Hunter College The City University of New York 2017 Thesis Sponsor: April 10, 2017 Kellie Carter Jackson Date Signature April 10, 2017 Jonathan Rosenberg Date Signature of Second Reader Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Public Space and the Genesis of Black Harlem ................................................. 7 Defining Public Space ................................................................................................... 7 Defining Race Riot ....................................................................................................... 9 Why Harlem? ............................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 2: Setting
    [Show full text]
  • Harlem's Rent Strike and Rat War: Representation, Housing Access and Tenant Resistance in New York, 1958-1964
    Harlem's Rent Strike and Rat War: Representation, Housing Access and Tenant Resistance in New York, 1958-1964 Mandi Isaacs Jackson Housing Access On December 30,1963, photographers patiently awaited the arrival of ten­ ants from two Harlem tenements scheduled to appear in Manhattan Civil Court on charges of rent non-payment. Since the chilly early morning hours, photog­ raphers had mulled around outside the civil courthouse on Centre Street, mov­ ing cameras from one shoulder to the other, lighting and extinguishing ciga­ rettes. The press had been tipped off by strike leaders that they would smuggle dead rats into the courtroom to serve as both symbol and evidence of what the media liked to call their "sub-human" living conditions. These defendants rep­ resented thirteen families on 117th Street who had been withholding rent in protest of the their buildings' combined 129 building violations, pointing to "dark and littered" hallways, "crumbly" ceilings, and broken windows, water, and heat. But what photographers waited to capture in black and white were the "rats as big as cats" that plagued the dilapidated buildings. "They so big they can open up your refrigerator without you!" reported one tenant.1 Finally, at 11:30 am, the tenants waded through the river of television and newspaper cameras and removed three dead rodents from a milk container, a paper bag, and a newspaper. Flash bulbs exploded. As he displayed the enor­ mous dead rat he had brought from home, tenant William D. Anderson told a New York Amsterdam News reporter, "This is the only way to get action from 0026-3079/2006/4701-053S2.50/0 American Studies, 47:1 (Spring 2006): 53-79 53 54 Mandi Isaacs Jackson the property owners who don't care anything about the tenants."2 The grotesque statement made by the rat-brandishing rent strikers was, as William Anderson told the reporters, an eleventh-hour stab at the visibility tenants were consis­ tently denied.
    [Show full text]
  • Finding and Using African American Newspapers
    Finding and Using African American Newspapers Timothy N. Pinnick [email protected] http://blackcoalminerheritage.net/ INTRODUCTION African American researchers will find black newspapers an extremely valuable part of their search strategy. Although mainstream newspapers should always be consulted, African American newspapers will provide nuggets of information that can be found nowhere else. Although the first African American newspaper was established in 1827, it is in the post Civil War period that the black press experienced tremendous growth. Hundreds of newspapers appeared to quench the thirst for knowledge in the newly freed slaves, and to provide an accurate and positive image of the race. Clint C. Wilson took the incomplete manuscript of the foremost historian of the African American press, Armistead Pride and produced A History of the Black Press in 1997. It is a great source of information on black newspapers. Another worthwhile source can be found online at the public television website of PBS. They produced the documentary film, “The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords” in 1999, and their website is rich in reference material. http://www.pbs.org/blackpress/index.html VALUE OF BLACK NEWSPAPERS Aside from the most obvious benefit of locating obituaries, researchers can discover: an exact or nearly exact event date (birth, death, or marriage) of an ancestor, therefore enhancing the odds of a successful outcome when the eventual request for the vital record is made. Remember, some places will only search a short span of years in their index, and charge you whether they find the record or not. additional information on the event that will not be found on the vital record.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Silent Arrival': the Second Wave of the Great Migration and Its Affects on Black New York, 1940-1950
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2013 The 'Silent Arrival': The Second Wave of the Great Migration and Its Affects on Black New York, 1940-1950 Carla J. Dubose-Simons The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2231 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] THE ‘SILENT ARRIVAL’: THE SECOND WAVE OF THE GREAT MIGRATION AND ITS AFFECTS ON BLACK NEW YORK, 1940-1950 by CARLA J. DUBOSE-SIMONS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York. 2013 ii ©2013 Carla J. DuBose-Simons All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the Dissertation requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ______________________ ___________________________________________ Date Judith Stein, Chair of Examining Committee ______________________ ___________________________________________ Date Helena Rosenblatt, Executive Officer Joshua Freeman _____________________________________________ Thomas Kessner ______________________________________________ Clarence Taylor ______________________________________________ George White ______________________________________________ The City University of New York iv ABSTRACT THE ‘SILENT ARRIVAL’: THE SECOND WAVE OF THE GREAT MIGRATION AND ITS AFFECTS ON BLACK NEW YORK, 1940-1950 By Carla J. DuBose-Simons Advisor: Judith Stein This dissertation explores black New York in the 1940s with an emphasis on the demographic, economic, and social effects the World War II migration of blacks to the city.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpreting Racial Politics
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2013 Interpreting Racial Politics: Black and Mainstream Press Web Site Tea Party Coverage Benjamin Rex LaPoe II Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation LaPoe II, Benjamin Rex, "Interpreting Racial Politics: Black and Mainstream Press Web Site Tea Party Coverage" (2013). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 45. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/45 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. INTERPRETING RACIAL POLITICS: BLACK AND MAINSTREAM PRESS WEB SITE TEA PARTY COVERAGE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Manship School of Mass Communication by Benjamin Rex LaPoe II B.A. West Virginia University, 2003 M.S. West Virginia University, 2008 August 2013 Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction
    [Show full text]
  • CC Spaulding & RR Wright
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2011 C.C Spaulding & R.R Wright---Companions on the Road Less Traveled?: A Reconsideration of African American International Relations in the Early Twentieth Century Brandon R. Byrd College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, African History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Byrd, Brandon R., "C.C Spaulding & R.R Wright---Companions on the Road Less Traveled?: A Reconsideration of African American International Relations in the Early Twentieth Century" (2011). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626667. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-pqyd-mg78 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. C.C. Spaulding & R.R. Wright - Companions on the Road Less Traveled? A Reconsideration of African American International Relations in the Early Twentieth Century Brandon R. Byrd Raleigh, North Carolina Bachelor of Arts, Davidson College, 2009 A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of History The College of William and Mary January, 2011 APPROVAL PAGE This Thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Brandon Ron Approved by the Committee, October, 2010 « w ~ Frances L.
    [Show full text]
  • African American Newsline Distribution Points
    African American Newsline Distribution Points Deliver your targeted news efficiently and effectively through NewMediaWire’s African−American Newsline. Reach 700 leading trades and journalists dealing with political, finance, education, community, lifestyle and legal issues impacting African Americans as well as The Associated Press and Online databases and websites that feature or cover African−American news and issues. Please note, NewMediaWire includes free distribution to trade publications and newsletters. Because these are unique to each industry, they are not included in the list below. To get your complete NewMediaWire distribution, please contact your NewMediaWire account representative at 310.492.4001. A.C.C. News Weekly Newspaper African American AIDS Policy &Training Newsletter African American News &Issues Newspaper African American Observer Newspaper African American Times Weekly Newspaper AIM Community News Weekly Newspaper Albany−Southwest Georgian Newspaper Alexandria News Weekly Weekly Newspaper Amen Outreach Newsletter Newsletter Annapolis Times Newspaper Arizona Informant Weekly Newspaper Around Montgomery County Newspaper Atlanta Daily World Weekly Newspaper Atlanta Journal Constitution Newspaper Atlanta News Leader Newspaper Atlanta Voice Weekly Newspaper AUC Digest Newspaper Austin Villager Newspaper Austin Weekly News Newspaper Bakersfield News Observer Weekly Newspaper Baton Rouge Weekly Press Weekly Newspaper Bay State Banner Newspaper Belgrave News Newspaper Berkeley Tri−City Post Newspaper Berkley Tri−City Post
    [Show full text]
  • Accelerate Local Announces Digital Transformation Lab for Publishers of Color
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nancy Lane, President, Local Media Association ​ ​ [email protected] Jed Williams, Chief Strategy Officer, Local Media Association ​ [email protected] Peter Newton, Managing Director, Accelerate Local ​ [email protected] Accelerate Local announces Digital Transformation Lab for publishers of color The Atlanta Voice, The Dallas Weekly, New York Amsterdam News, Houston Defender, The Washington Informer to be pilot partners; first stand-alone project for LMA accelerator (September 25, 2019) — Accelerate Local, ​ designed to reinvent business models for news, today announced its first stand-alone project: a six-month digital transformation lab for African-American newspapers. The Atlanta Voice, The Dallas Weekly, New York Amsterdam News, Houston Defender and ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The Washington Informer will serve as pilot partners in this unique lab. ​ According to a recent Local Media Association survey, African-American newspaper owners, like many other media outlets, are concerned about the future of their publications and struggle with digital transformation — only 9.5% of their revenue comes from digital. The five pilot partners have been in business an average of 75-plus years and have strong ties to their communities. “The black press, like the rest of the local media industry, needs help when it comes to digital transformation strategies,” said Nancy Lane, president, Local Media Association. “We are delighted to launch the first industry effort focused on a strong digital future for publishers of color. We invite other funders, R&D partners and philanthropists to join our efforts and help this important segment of the local media industry.” Accelerate Local, owned by LMA, will invest six figures in this lab that will feature three phases over six months: ● Assessment and analysis of short-and-long term opportunities — conducted by Accelerate Local’s managing director, Peter Newton (former chief operating officer for GateHouse Media and former executive at Monster.com and The Boston Globe).
    [Show full text]
  • Primary Sources Packet
    LESSON: History Unfolded: Black Press Coverage of the Holocaust HANDOUT: Primary Source Packet Use the table of contents below to read through the Historical Information on Black Newspapers and the primary sources you are assigned. TABLE OF CONTENTS Historical Information on Black Newspapers 2 Assignment 1 3 Assignment 2 (two sources in this one) 7 Assignment 3 16 Assignment 4 20 Assignment 5 25 Assignment 6 30 Assignment 7 35 Primary Sources | 1 of 39 ​ LESSON: History Unfolded: Black Press Coverage of the Holocaust HANDOUT: Primary Source Packet Historical Information on Black Newspapers The following descriptions provide background information for the primary sources found in this packet. Continue reading the packet to find images and text for each primary source. As of 2020, all of the following newspapers were still in existence. The Journal and Guide The Journal and Guide is a Black press newspaper located in Norfolk, Virginia. Founded in 1922, it was a ​ weekly newspaper with a circulation of over 80,000 by the mid 1940s. The New York Amsterdam News The New York Amsterdam News, founded in 1909, is based in New York City. It was a weekly ​ ​ newspaper in the 1930s. In the 1940s, it changed its name to the New York Amsterdam Star-News and by ​ ​ 1945 had a circulation of over 65,000. The Chicago Defender The Chicago Defender, founded in 1905, is based in Chicago, Illinois. Along with The Pittsburgh ​ ​ Courier, it became one of the most prominent and influential newspapers of the Black press, with a ​ national readership. Ida B. Wells, Langston Hughes, and Martin Luther King wrote columns printed in the paper.
    [Show full text]
  • Passioned, Radical Leader Who Incorporating Their Own
    Vol. 59 No. 11 March 13 - 19, 2019 CELEBRATING MARCH 14, 2018 25 Portland and Seattle Volume XL No. 24 CENTS BLACK MEN ARRESTED AT STARBUCKS WANT CHANGE IN U.S. RACIAL ATTITUDES - PG. 2 News ..............................3,8-10 A & E .....................................6-7 Opinion ...................................2 NRA Gives to Schools ......8 NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW Calendars ...........................4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11 THE SKANNER NEWS READERS POLL Should Portland Public Schools change the name of Jefferson High School? (451 responses) YES THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY 129 (29%) NO Reporting and Recording Black History 322 (71%) STUDENTS WALK OUT 75 Cents VOL. 47 NO. 28 FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018 Final Seventy-one percent of respondents to a The Skanner News poll favored keeping the name of Thomas Jefferson High School intact. CENTER192 FOCUSES ON YOUTH POLL RESULTS: YEARS OF THE 71 Percent of TO HELP SAVE THE PLANET The Skanner’s Readers Oppose BLACK PRESS Jefferson Name Change Alumni association circulating a petition OF AMERICA opposed to name change PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED SUSAN BY PHOTO By Christen McCurdy Hundreds of students from Washington Middle School and Garfield High School joined students across the country in a walkout and 17 minutes of silence Of The Skanner News to show support for the lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida Feb. 14 and to let elected officials know that they want stricter gun control laws. he results of a poll by The Skanner News, which opened Feb. 22 and closed Tuesday, favor keeping the Oregon Introduces ‘Gun Violence Restraining Orders’ Tname of North Portland’s Thomas Jefferson High School.
    [Show full text]
  • New York Amsterdam News(1922–1993)
    New York Amsterdam News (1922–1993) Important regional scholarship FROM AN INITIAL $10 investment, the New York Amsterdam News grew to become one of the nation’s leading black newspapers and one of New York’s most influential black-owned institutions. For nearly a century, it has helped influence and promote the causes and aspirations of African-Americans. Contributors have included W. E. B. Du Bois, Roy Wilkins, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Malcolm X. The New York Amsterdam News captured the vibrancy and cultural richness of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, advocated for the desegregation of the U.S. military during World War II, and fought against discriminatory employment practices and other civil rights abuses in the 1960s. Today, the New York Amsterdam News continues to deliver local, national, and international stories of interest to its multicultural readership. More than 70 continuous years of cover-to-cover news from this remarkable publication is available online now from ProQuest. Curriculum Focus • African-American Studies • Education • Religion • Arts and Literature • History • Social Sciences • Civil Rights • Journalism • Sports History • Culture • Multidisciplinary • Urban Planning • Genealogy • Political Science Why the New York Amsterdam News? • Full access to one of the nation’s leading black newspapers: Users can study the progression of issues over time by browsing issues of the historic newspaper, which offers coverage of 1922-1993, including news articles, photos, advertisements, classified ads, obituaries, cartoons, and more. • Insight into multiple perspectives: Not only does presenting this newspaper on the ProQuest platform allow for cover-to-cover browsing of complete issues of the New York Amsterdam News, but users can find a broader view of issues and events by cross searching all of ProQuest’s historical newspapers, such as the Chicago Defender and The New York Times with Index.
    [Show full text]