List of African American newspapers in Alabama facts for kids

The front page of the Wide-Awake newspaper from January 1900.

This article is about African American newspapers that have been printed in Alabama. It includes newspapers from the past and ones that are still being published today.

The very first African American newspaper in Alabama was called The Nationalist. It was printed in Mobile from 1865 to 1869. Many more newspapers started after that, especially in the 1890s. About 100 new newspapers began during this time as more people learned to read and moved to cities.

African American newspaper editors in Alabama created their first state group, the Alabama Colored Press Association, in 1887. Nine newspapers joined this group. However, the association stopped working after only two years because many of its main members had to leave the state due to difficult and unfair treatment. As more African American newspapers continued to grow, the Afro-American Press Association of Alabama was started in 1894.

Important African American Newspapers in Alabama
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Important African American Newspapers in Alabama

African American newspapers played a very important role in sharing news, ideas, and community information. They were a voice for many people during times when other newspapers might not have shared their stories or opinions. Here are some of the key newspapers from different cities in Alabama.

Newspapers in Birmingham

Birmingham was a major city for African American newspapers. Many different papers were published there over the years.

The Baptist Leader: This newspaper was printed weekly and started in the 1880s. It was also published in Anniston for a few years.
The Afro-American Labor Sentinel: This paper was printed twice a month starting in 1896. It was published by The Afro-American Labor and Protective Association.
The Birmingham American: This weekly newspaper started in the 1910s.
Birmingham Blade: This weekly paper was published and edited by L.H. Harrison from 1907 to 1909.
Broad Axe: Edited by T.H. Jordan, this paper was published from 1891 to 1895.
By Any Means Necessary: (BAMN): This newspaper started around 1985 and was published by the New Afrikan People’s Organization.
Christian Era (also known as Birmingham Era): This paper was edited by T.W. Coffee and published from 1886 to 1887.
The Christian Hope: This weekly newspaper was printed in Birmingham and Demopolis, starting around 1894.
Birmingham Free Speech: Published weekly by Francis P. McAlpin, this paper started in 1901.
Hot Shots: This paper was published irregularly from 1896 into the 1900s.
Birmingham Mirror: This weekly newspaper started around 1939 and was published by J. Howard Williamson. It was still being printed in 1974.
Negro American (also known as The Negro American and American Citizen): This important weekly paper was edited by R.C.O. Benjamin from 1886 to 1887. He had to leave due to threats. It was known as "the most outspoken black paper in Birmingham."
The New Era Banner: This weekly newspaper started in 1918 or 1919.
The Pleiades: This weekly paper began in 1888.
The Birmingham Reporter: This weekly newspaper started around 1900. It was published by the Colored Masonic Temple and edited by Oscar W. Adams Sr. from 1907 to 1928.
The Birmingham Reporter (another paper with the same name, also called Birmingham Eagle Reporter): This weekly paper started around 1915 and was the "Official organ of the Masons, Eastern Stars, and Knights of Pythias of Alabama and Knights and Ladies of Honor of the World."
The Times Plain Dealer: This weekly newspaper started in the 1910s and was still being printed in 1921.
The Birmingham Times: This is a current weekly newspaper that started in 1964. You can visit its official website: Official site: https://www.birminghamtimes.com/
The Birmingham Truth: This weekly paper started in 1902 and was founded and edited by Carrie A. Tuggle until 1910.
The Truth: Published by Tuggle Printing Company, this weekly paper started in 1903.
The Voice of the People (also known as Weekly Voice): This weekly newspaper started around 1913 and was published by E.W. Howell.
The Alabama Voice: This bimonthly newspaper started in 1946 and was published by H.D. Coke.
Weekly Pilot: This weekly paper was edited by J.H. Thomason and published by Pilot Publishing Company, starting in 1883.
The Weekly Review: This weekly newspaper started around 1934 and was published and edited by Robert Durr.
Wide Awake Bulletin (later Wide-Awake and Birmingham Wide-Awake): This weekly paper started around 1887 or 1889.
The Workmen's Chronicle: This weekly newspaper started in 1917 and was "Issued under the auspices of the Afro-American Sociological Congress."
Birmingham World: This newspaper was founded by W.A. Scott in 1930 and published until 1996. It was a weekly paper, and sometimes printed twice a week.

Newspapers in Mobile

Mobile was another important city for African American newspapers.

Ace: This weekly newspaper started in 1975 and was edited by William Shirley and Arthur Johnson Jr.
Mobile Beacon (also known as The Mobile Beacon & Alabama Citizen): This weekly newspaper started in 1943 and is still being published today. It was published by Lancie M. Thomas.
Gazette: This paper was published twice weekly, then weekly, from 1883 to 1884. It was the last newspaper project of Philip Joseph.
Herald: This paper was started in 1871 to support a specific political group.
Methodist Vindicator: Edited by T.W. Coffee, this paper was published from 1888 to 1889.
The Nationalist: This was the first African American newspaper in Alabama, published from 1865 to 1869. It was owned and managed by African Americans.
The New Times: This weekly newspaper started in 1981 and is still being published today.
The Press Forum Sun: This weekly newspaper was published in the 1900s.
The Press-Forum Weekly: This weekly newspaper was published from 1929 to 1941.
The Mobile Republican: This newspaper started in 1870. It was initially a daily paper, then became a weekly paper when Philip Joseph bought it. James Shaw became its editor and publisher in 1871. It might have been the first newspaper in Alabama edited by an African American.
The Southern Watchman: Edited by Anderson N. McEwen, this weekly paper was published from 1899 to 1904.
The Mobile Watchman (also known as Watchman): This weekly paper was edited by Philip Joseph and K. H. Saltiel from 1873 to 1874.
The Mobile Weekly Advocate: This weekly newspaper started in 1911 and was still being printed in 1958.
The Mobile Weekly Press: This weekly newspaper was published from around 1896 to 1929. It was edited by Andrew N. Johnson from 1894 to 1907.

Newspapers in Montgomery

Montgomery also had a rich history of African American newspapers.

The Advance: This weekly newspaper started around 1877 and was published by James A. Scott.
The Alabama Enterprise: This weekly newspaper started around 1885 and was edited by Sam B. Davis.
The Alabama Guide: This monthly newspaper started in 1884 and was published and edited by M.G. Thomas.
Alabama Republican: This weekly newspaper started in 1880 and was published and edited by Charles O. Harris.
Alabama Tribune: This weekly newspaper was published from 1951 to around 1964 by E.G. Jackson.
The Montgomery Argus: This weekly newspaper started in 1890.
The Colored Alabamian: This weekly newspaper was published from 1907 to 1916.
The Colored Citizen: This weekly newspaper was published by Brown Brothers in 1884.
The Emancipator: Edited by J. Edward McCall, this weekly newspaper was published from 1917 into the 1920s.
The Montgomery Enterprise: This weekly newspaper was published from 1898 to 1900.
The Evening Appeal: There were two newspapers with this name. One started around 1886, and another daily paper started in the 1880s, published by Allred Bros.
The Helping Hand: This weekly newspaper started around 1907 and was published by Jackson A. Stokes. It was still being printed in 1912.
The Herald: This weekly newspaper was published from 1886 to 1887 by Jesse C. Duke. He had to leave the state after writing an article against unfair violence.
The Montgomery Mirror: This weekly newspaper started around 1935.
Montgomery-Tuskegee Times: The Alternative (also known as The Montgomery-Tuskegee Times): This weekly newspaper started in 1979 and was published into the 2000s.
The Odd Fellows Journal: This monthly newspaper started in 1885.
The Republican Sentinel: Owned and edited by James T. Rapier, this weekly newspaper started around 1872.
The Southern Courier: This weekly newspaper was published from 1965 to 1968. It moved from Atlanta to Montgomery in 1965.
The Montgomery Times: This weekly newspaper was published from 1977 to 1979.
Voice of Action: This weekly newspaper started in 1970.
Watchman (also known as Negro Watchman): This paper was published from 1873 to 1874. It was edited by Philip Joseph, with William H. Councill and A.E. Williams as associate editors.
The Weekly Citizen: This weekly newspaper started in 1884 and had many different editors and publishers.
The Weekly News: This weekly newspaper started in 1884 and was published by C.M. Brown, who was known for supporting self-defense for black people.
Montgomery Weekly Review: This weekly newspaper started around 1936 and was edited by William P. Smith.

Other Notable Newspapers in Alabama

African American newspapers were published in many other cities across Alabama. Here are a few examples:

Aldrich:
- The Alabama Time-Piece (also The Alabama Timepiece): A weekly paper published from 1895 to around 1902 by Aldrich Publishing Company.
Anniston:
- The Union Leader: A weekly paper published from 1901 to around 1903.
Bay Minette:
- American Banner: A weekly, sometimes bimonthly, paper published from around 1895 through at least 1902.
Belmont:
- News: A weekly paper published from 1902 to 1903.
Bethel:
- The Southern Star: A weekly paper published in the 1890s into the 1900s.
Decatur:
- The Guardian: A monthly newspaper published from 1910 through at least 1914.
- Speakin' Out Weekly News (also Speakin’ Out News): A current weekly newspaper that started in 1980. You can visit its official website: Official site: https://www.speakinoutweeklynews.com/#!
Dothan:
- Southern Star: A weekly paper published from 1916.
- The Voice Of The Negro (also Voice of the Negro): A weekly paper published from around 1912 through at least 1915.
Epes:
- The Sumter Enterprise: A weekly paper published and edited by A.G. Idrell from 1907.
Eufaula:
- Vindicator: Edited by T.W. Coffee, this paper started in 1889.
Eutaw:
- Greene County Democrat: A current weekly newspaper. You can visit its official website: Official site: https://greenecodemocrat.com/
- Western Guide: A weekly paper published from 1905 to 1909.
Fayette:
- Watchman: A weekly paper published from 1902 to 1903.
Florence:
- The Shoals News Leader: A weekly paper published from around 1979 by Reginald Liner.
- The Watcher: A weekly paper published from 1888 to 1889, when it stopped printing.
Georgiana:
- The Temple Star: A twice-monthly paper that started around 1916.
Girard:
- Eastern Sunlight: A weekly paper published from 1901 to 1914.
Grove Hill:
- Grove Hill Herald: A weekly paper published in the 1800s.
Hayneville:
- The Republican Sentinel and Hayneville Times: A weekly paper published in 1878. It was published by James T. Rapier and edited by Nathan M. Alexander.
Huntsville:
- Huntsville Gazette: A weekly paper published from 1879 to 1894. It was edited by Charles Hendley, Jr. This was "the most financially successful and enduring black newspaper in Alabama before 1900."
- The Herald: A weekly paper published from 1878 to 1884, edited by W.H. Councill.
- The Huntsville Journal: A weekly paper published from 1895 to 1897.
- The Journal: A weekly paper published from 1897 to 1912.
- The Huntsville Mirror: A weekly paper published from around 1935, edited by L.C. Jamar.
- The Huntsville Star: A weekly paper published from 1900, edited by Richard C. Hancock.
- The Weekly News (two papers with this name): One was published weekly or bimonthly from 1968 into the 1980s. Another weekly paper was published in the 1900s, attested from 1931.
Kempsville:
- The Eagle (also The Cagie): A twice-monthly paper published in the 1800s into the 1910s.
Lovan:
- The Eagle: A twice-monthly paper published in the 1880s into the 1900s.
Marion:
- The Journal Reporter: A weekly paper published in the 1870s through at least 1881.
Opelika:
- The People's Choice: A weekly paper published from 1894, edited by John P. Lawrence. It had a circulation of 300 copies.
Patton Junction:
- The Patton Pointer: A weekly paper published from around 1897 to 1904, edited by J.T. Nall.
Selma:
- The Baptist Pioneer: A weekly or monthly paper published from around 1878 to 1886. It was published by the Alabama Baptist Normal and Theological School.
- The Selma Cyclone: A weekly paper published from 1886 into the 1890s. It was known for its peaceful political views.
- Dallas Post: Published in 1884, this was "the first secular Negro news journal ever published in Dallas County."
- The Independent (also Southern Independent): A weekly paper published in the 1800s. It absorbed other papers in 1888.
- Selma Record: A weekly paper published from 1900 through at least 1902.
- Selma Sentinel: A weekly paper published from 1965.
- Southern Christian Age: A weekly paper published from 1898 through at least 1901, edited by W.H. Mixon.
- Southern Christian Recorder: This newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was published from 1888 to 1891. Its editor, Mansfield Bryant, had to move to Nashville, Tennessee after being arrested and threatened.
Slocomb:
- Ardis Times: A weekly paper published from 1909 to 1911.
Talladega:
- Reporter and Watchtower: A weekly paper published from 1873 to around 1886.
- The Southern Sentinel: A monthly paper published during the school year from 1877 to around 1881 or 1886.
Tunnell Springs:
- Eagle: Published from 1888 to 1913.
Tuscaloosa:
- Alabama Citizen (also The Alabama Citizen and the Tuscaloosa Weekly Review): A weekly paper published from around 1944 to 1947 or 1963. It was published by James R. Greene.
- Tuscaloosa Courier: A monthly newspaper published from around 1979 by Charles Steele Jr.
- Tuskaloosa Chronicle: A weekly paper published from 1896.
Tuscumbia:
- The American Star: A monthly paper published from 1901 to around 1929. It was known as "the leading black paper in northwest Alabama."
Tuskegee:
- The Alabama Headlight: A semimonthly paper published from 1900 to around 1902.
- The Tuskegee Herald: A monthly newspaper published from 1950 to 1958.
- The Messenger: A weekly paper published from 1905 into the 1900s.
- The Negro Farmer: A monthly newspaper published from 1940.
- The Tuskegee Progressive: A weekly paper published from around 1970 to 1971 by Joseph Ervin Morse.
- The Tuskegee Times: A weekly paper published from 1974 to 1976.
- The Tuskegee Voice: A weekly paper published from 1976 to 1977.
- The Zion Church Worker: The Home Newspaper: A monthly newspaper published from 1900.
Union Springs:
- The Union Springs Enterprise: A weekly paper published from 1895.
Uniontown:
- The Negro Leader (also The Uniontown News): A weekly paper published from 1900 to 1917. It was the official paper of the Black Belt Farmers Conference.
Wetumpka:
- Observer: A weekly paper published from 1910 to 1912.
Yantley:
- Racial Endeavors: A weekly paper published from 1906 to 1907.