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List of African American newspapers in Iowa facts for kids

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Iowa state bystander. June 15, 1894
Fragments of the first issue of the Iowa Bystander, from 1894

This is a list of African American newspapers that have been published in Iowa.

The first African American newspaper in Iowa was the Colored Advance of Corning, Iowa, founded in 1882. It was followed the next year by the Des Moines Rising Son. By far the longest-lasting, however, was the Iowa Bystander, which spanned more than a century.

During the peak period of African American newspaper founding in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the African American population in Iowa was less than 20,000. As a result, the number of such papers established in Iowa is much lower than in some neighboring states such as Illinois.

A hotspot of African American newspaper publishing in the early 20th century was Buxton, a coal-mining town that no longer exists. Around eight African American newspapers were published there in the first decades of the 20th century.

Newspapers

City Title Beginning End Frequency Call numbers Remarks
Buxton Buxton Advocate 1911 1912 Weekly
Buxton Buxton Breeze ? ?
Buxton Buxton Bulletin 1914 1916
Buxton Iowa Colored Worker 1907 1910`
Buxton The Buxton Eagle 1903 1905 Weekly
Buxton Buxton Gazette 1903 1909 Weekly
  • Buxton's "most successful and respected weekly."
Buxton Buxton Leader 1912 1913 Weekly
Buxton The Vindicator 1908 ?
Corning Colored Advance 1882 ? Twice monthly
  • First African American newspaper in Iowa.
Davenport Cash Register 1980s Weekly
  • "probably a weekly shopper"
Davenport Tri-City Advocate 1907 ?
Davenport Tri-City Observer 1940 ?
Des Moines Weekly Advocate 1891 1894 Weekly
Des Moines Iowa Afro-Citizen 1976 1977 Weekly
Des Moines Afro Des Moines Communicator 1978 1978?
Des Moines The Weekly Avalanche 1891 1895 or 1894 Weekly
  • Official newspaper of the Afro-American Protective Association of Iowa.
Des Moines Iowa Baptist Standard 1897 1899 Weekly
Des Moines Black Des Moines 1972 1972?
Des Moines Black Revolutionary 1971 ?
Des Moines The Iowa Bystander / Iowa State Bystander / Bystander 1894 2015 Weekly
  • By far Iowa's longest-lasting African American newspaper, spanning over a century. Founded by "ten prominent black men who had migrated to Iowa during the 1870s."
    Some issues available online
Des Moines Inner City Challenger / Challenger 1981 1984 Monthly newspaper
Des Moines and Buxton Iowa Colored Woman 1907 1909 or 1910 Monthly
  • Journal of the Iowa State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. Moved from Des Moines to Buxton in 1909, but ceased publication later that year.
Des Moines The Communicator: Iowa’s Leading Multicultural Newspaper 1985 or 1986 2018? Biweekly or bimonthly
  • Edited by Jonathan R. Narcisse (1963–2018).
    Official site: https://www.facebook.com/thecommunicatorgoodnews/
Des Moines Monitor 1910
Des Moines Iowa Observer 1936 or 1939 1949
  • Founded by Charles Howard, Sr., after he grew unhappy with the policies of the Iowa Bystander. Circulation exceeded the Bystander by more than 1000 in the early 1940s. No copies are known to survive.
Des Moines Des Moines Register and Leader 1908 1915
Des Moines Rising Son 1883 1885 Weekly
  • Edited by Harry Graham, founder of the Western Negro Press Association.
Des Moines Iowa Sepia News 1951 1952 or 1954
Des Moines They Say 1936 Weekly
  • Founded by Charles Howard, Jr., while a high school student.
Des Moines Western Ledger 1908 1909 Monthly newspaper
  • Official newspaper of the Colored Co-operative League.
Keokuk Baptist Herald ? 1901
Keokuk Baptist Missionary 1917
Keokuk Iowa State Citizen 1897
Keokuk Western Baptist Herald 1881 1885
Oskaloosa Iowa District News 1890 1891 Monthly
Oskaloosa Negro Solicitor 1893 or 1895 1899
  • "[T]he only black Democratic paper published in Iowa before the 1930s."
Oskaloosa Gazette 1896 1896
Ottumwa New Era 1901
Sioux City Silent Messenger 1937 1938
Sioux City Enterprise 1936 1938
Sioux City Weekly Review 1928 1930
Sioux City Afro-American Advance 1908 1912 Weekly
Sioux City Searchlight 1899 1902 Weekly
Waterloo The Defender / The Waterloo Defender 1963 or 1966 ? Weekly
  • Played central role in the fight against racial discrimination in Waterloo. Extant issues through 1979.
Waterloo Observer 1941
Waterloo and Cedar Falls Parker Tribune 1980s 1980s
Waterloo The Waterloo Post 1952 ? Weekly
  • Extant through 1953.
Waterloo Special Delivery 1987 ?
Waterloo Star 1950s 1950s Weekly

See also

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