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List of African American newspapers in Montana facts for kids

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Colored Citizen Helena 1894-09-03
First page of the first issue of The Colored Citizen from September 1894.

This is a list of African American newspapers that have been published in the state of Montana.

Montana's first such newspaper was The Colored Citizen, published in Helena in the fall of 1894. During this period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the African American population of Montana fluctuated between 1000 and 1500 people.

Montana has the unique position of being entirely surrounded by states (Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota) that have never had an African American newspaper. The state's early Black press accordingly covered a particularly wide geographic sweep, and many of Montana's early African American papers carried news from communities in other Western states. Some other states' newspapers returned the favor: the Seattle Northwest Enterprise ran a column of Montana news from the 1920s to 1960s.

Newspapers

City Title Beginning End Frequency Call numbers Remarks
Butte The New Age or Montana New Age 1902 1903? Weekly
  • ISSN 2326-9669 2326-9669
  • LCCN 2013218599, sn84036148
  • Available online
  • Carried local news from California, Utah, Washington, and Idaho in addition to various Montana cities.
Fort Harrison Knocker 1902 ?
  • Known only through mentions in other papers.
Helena The Colored Citizen 1894 1894 Weekly
  • ISSN 2326-9693 2326-9693
  • LCCN 2013218600, sn84036198
  • Available online
  • Edited by J.P. Ball Jr., son of James Presley Ball.
  • Carried local news from Billings and Seattle as well as Helena.
  • Published from September 3 to November 6, 1894, shutting down after the 1894 Montana elections.
Helena The Montana Plaindealer 1906 1911 Variable: weekly, monthly, or irregular
  • Available online
  • Edited and published by Joseph Blackburn Bass, who earlier published the Topeka Call and later edited the California Eagle.
Helena Reporter 1899? 1901 Twice monthly
Missoula Everybody 1959 1987

See also

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List of African American newspapers in Montana Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.