University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-1982 The Black Press of Tennessee: 1865-1980 Karen Fitzgerald Brown University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Brown, Karen Fitzgerald, "The Black Press of Tennessee: 1865-1980. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1982. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2523 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Karen Fitzgerald Brown entitled "The Black Press of Tennessee: 1865-1980." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communication. George A. Everett, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Herbert Howard, G. A. Yeomans, Kenneth McCullough Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I u.m submitting herewith a dissertation writ.ten by Karen Fitzgerald Brown entitled "The Black Press of Tennessee: 1865-1980." I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communications. Geoge A? Everett Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: Vice Chnncellor Graduate Studies and Research THE BLACK PRESS OF TENNESSEE : 1865-1980 A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philo sophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Karen Fitzgerald Brown August 1982 Copyright by Karen Fitzgerald Brown 1982 All Rights Reserved DEDICATION To black and unknown journalists , Whose struggle helped bring us thus far on the way ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to the faculty, staff and students at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who assisted me in completing this study . My advisor, Dr . George Everett, and my committee members , Dr . Herbert Howard , Dr . G. A. Yeomans and Dr. Kenneth McCullough, were true assets . The technical assistance and encouragement of Margaret Cook was particularly helpful and deeply appreciated . My family at Tennessee State University offered advice and support. Dr . Jamye C. Williams started me in this endeavor and offered quiet encouragement throughout. The conc ern and assistance of Dr . McDona ld Williams , members of the Depa rtment of Communication, the staff of the Brown­ Danie l Library and faculty of the Department of History and Geography, particularly Professor Lo is McDougald, were appreciated . I acknowledge the great debt that all scholars of the black press owe to Dr . Armistead Pride . His work was invaluable to this study . His gracious encouragement and assistance during a phone conversation and exchange of letters were appreciated . Final ly, I am deeply grateful to my family: my father, Rev . C. H. Fitzgerald, who saw the beginning but not the end; my mother , sister, and daughter Asha, who came to us near iv v the final chapter . Above all, I am indebted to my guys, sons Asim and Christopher, and my husband , Tony, for struggling all the way with me . ABSTRACT At least 112 black newspapers have been published in Tennessee, beginn ing with the Colored Tennessean in 1865. William B. Scott, an East Tennessee harness-maker, and his son, William Jr ., published the Co lored Tennessean in Nashville on or about April 29, making it one of the first black newspapers in the South. From 1865 to 1899 there were at least 35 black papers published in the state, 52 from 1900 to 1950, and 25 from 1951 to 19 80. By the end of the period there were only three black papers being pri nted in the state: the Memphis Tr i-State Defender, Memphis Mid-South Express and the Nashville Metropolitan . The average life of Tennessee 's black newspapers was 7.4 years, below the national average for black papers of 9 years (according to a 19 50 study by Armistead Pride) . The Nashville Globe (1906-1960) seems to have been the most significant paper studied. In addi tion to having had the longest existence, the paper also was a force in some political gains by blacks . Other significant papers and their years of existence were the Memphis Tri-State De fender (1951-present) , Chattanooga Observer (31) , Knoxville Flashl ight He rald (32) , Memphis Wo rld (41) and the East Tennessee News (42) . vi vii The mo st famous figure in the state 's black press was Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a nationally known journalist at the turn of the century . She became an internationa l lecturer in a crusade against lynching . Wells-Barnett wa s editor of the Memphis Free Speech during her early years . Other important figures associated wi th the state 's black press included Richa rd Henry Boyd and Henry A. Boyd of the Nashville Globe . TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 The Black Press of Tennessee, 1865-1980 1 1. FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY ... 3 Purposes and Significance 3 Definition of Terms ... 7 Delimitations .... 9 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . 10 Books 10 Dissertations and Theses 20 Periodicals . 22 Directories 25 3. RESEARCH METHOD 26 4. ROOTS IN RECONSTRUCTION : 1865-1899 31 The Setting . 31 The Press . 43 The Black Press of Tennessee . 51 Summary of the Period . 76 5. GROWTH AND ESTABLISHME NT : 1900-1950 . 80 The Setting . 80 The Press . 93 The Black Press of Tennessee . 102 summary of the Period . 126 6. DECLINE AND UNCERTAINTY : 1951-1980 133 The Setting . 133 The Pres s . 143 The Black Press of Tennessee 149 Summa ry of the Period . 160 7. SUMMARY AND CONCLUS IONS 164 Aggrega te To tals for All Periods . 164 viii ix CHAPTER PAGE Overall Conclus ions 168 BIBLIOGRAPHY 172 APPENDIXES 183 A. INFORMATION ON TENNESSEE'S BLACK NEWSPAPERS . 184 B. TBMEC SURVE Y LETTER 198 C. TBME C SURVEY ANSWER SHEET . 200 D. LIBRARY SURVEY LETTER . 202 E. INSTITUTIONS CONTACTED FOR EXTANT COPIES OF BLACK TENNESSEE NEWSPAPERS . 204 VITA 209 INTRODUCTION THE BLACK PRESS OF TENNESSEE , 1865-1980 It does not take much digging to learn that the first newspapers publ ished in the Un i ted States were Publick Occurrences in 1690 and the Boston Newsletter in 1704; the first paper published in Tennessee wa s the Knoxville Gazette in 1791; the first black newspaper published in the United States was Freedom 's Journal in 1827 . These facts may vary in significance according to the reader 's interest, but they are a part of the history of journalism in this nation. If one pursues history and seeks informa tion about the black press in Tennessee, the literature thins considerably . There is very little collected information on the state 's black press . It is as if there ha s been no sizable body of publications . The earliest newspaper found and the wr iting of one author (Cansler, 19 39) indicate that the state 's first black newspaper wa s published in 1865. It continued for about two years before undergoing a name change . At least 34 other black newspapers were published in the state before 1900, and scores of papers have been published since that time . Some have lasted only briefly . Others have existed for 40 years or more . 1 2 The edi tors and publishers of these newspapers have inc luded businessmen (Bell, A., 1976� Hamilton, 1972, p. 150) , ministers (Hamilton� Williams , J., 1976) , a man recognized as a leader in East Tennessee politics ("The Democrats, .", 187 7) , and a woman who gained international recog­ nition as a speaker for human rights (Duster , 1970) . These fragments of the past suggest that there is a significant story in the history of black newspapers in Tennessee . CHAPTER 1 FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY Purposes and Significance This research is to present a broad study of the black press in Tennessee . The study had four purposes . The first was to provide a chronology of black Tennessee newspapers . The Tennessee State Archives has a list of 16 black news­ papers, and other sources , notably Pr ide (1950) and LaBrie (1973a) , have lists that include seve ral Tennessee newspapers . Books on the black press in America and on blacks in Tennessee mention some newspapers . The chronology in this report draws on these sources and others , hitherto untapped, in an effort to identify and list all black newspapers that were ever published in Tennessee. A seco nd purpose of this study was to locate extant copies of these newspapers. In her dissertation, "Extant Collections of Black Newspapers, 1880-1915," Georgetta Campbell (1978) demonstrated that copies of black newspapers exist in co llege and university libraries , special co llections and public libraries. Copies of newspapers of the Tennessee black press have been found in cu ltural centers and university co llections, as well as private accumulations . This portion of the dissertation wa s an effort to produce a list of the 3 4 loca tions of extant copies. Such a guide co uld lead to the formation of a co llection of black state newspapers. A third goal of this research was to provide information on the newspapers, including the names of publishers and editors, date s of existence and circulations .