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List of African American newspapers in Louisiana facts for kids

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The Louisianian 1870-12-18
The very first issue of The Louisianian newspaper from December 1870.

This article is about African American newspapers that have been published in Louisiana. These newspapers were, and still are, important for sharing news and ideas within the African American community. They also played a big role in fighting for civil rights and equality.

The first African American newspaper in Louisiana was called L'Union. It started in 1862 and was written in French. Just two years later, in 1864, the first daily African American newspaper in the entire United States began in New Orleans. It was named La Tribune de la Nouvelle-Orléans.

While some people might think the New Orleans Daily Creole, which started in 1856, was an early African American newspaper, experts usually don't include it. This is because it didn't truly represent the African American community's interests at the time. However, L'Union was the first newspaper, but not the first African American publication in Louisiana. That honor goes to L'Album Litteraire, Journal des Jeunes Gens, a successful literary magazine that started in New Orleans in 1843.

Many African American newspapers are still published in Louisiana today. The oldest one that is still being printed is The Shreveport Sun, which began way back in 1920!

Historic and Current Newspapers in Louisiana

This section lists many African American newspapers from Louisiana's past and present. You'll find out where they were published, their names, when they started, and if they are still being printed.

Newspapers from Alexandria

  • The Louisiana Baptist
    • City: Alexandria
    • Started: 1800s
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Was published at least in 1901.
  • Alexandria News Leader (also called Alexandria News Weekly)
    • City: Alexandria
    • Started: 1963
    • Stopped: 1999
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Edited by C.J. Bell.

Newspapers from Baton Rouge

  • The Capital City Weekly
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1946
    • Stopped: 1900s
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Baton Rouge Chronicle
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: Around 1993
    • Type: Monthly
    • Notes: Published by Leonard A. Black and edited by H. Louis Author.
  • Baton Rouge Community Leader (also known as Baton Rouge News Leader, Community Leader, News Leader, The Community Leader, Weekly Leader)
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1952
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Was published at least until 1982.
  • Eagle Dispatch
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1900s
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Was published at least in 1930.
  • The Eagle Dispatch
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: Around 1923
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Edited by W.S. Boswell.
  • The Baton Rouge Examiner
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1983
    • Stopped: Around 1984
    • Type: Monthly
    • Notes: Edited by Kermit Thomas.
  • The Grand Era
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1870
    • Stopped: 1877
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: J. Henri Burch was an editor around 1875.
  • The Greater Baton Rouge Metro
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1983
    • Stopped: Around 1986
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Edited by Kermit R. Thomas (1984–1985) and Lee T. Wesley (1985).
  • The Baton Rouge Herald
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1960
    • Stopped: 1961
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Observer
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1899
    • Stopped: 1900
    • Type: Weekly
  • Baton Rouge Post
  • Baton Rouge Post (a different one)
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1983
    • Stopped: 2007
    • Type: Irregular or weekly
    • Notes: This is not the same as a current online newspaper with the same name.
  • The Southern Digest
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: Unknown
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly during Southern University school semesters
    • Notes: Official site: http://www.southerndigest.com/
  • Weekly Press
    • City: Baton Rouge
    • Started: 1974
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Official site: https://www.brweeklypress.com/

Newspapers from Other Cities

  • Spectrum
    • City: Grambling
    • Started: Around 1991
    • Type: Bimonthly newspaper
    • Notes: Published by Ezil Bibbs Jr.
  • Lafayette News Leader
    • City: Lafayette
    • Started: Around 1970
    • Stopped: 1900s
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Was published at least until 1973.
  • The Rising Seed
    • City: Lafayette
    • Started: 1989
    • Stopped: 1993
    • Type: Monthly
    • Notes: Published and edited by Takuna Maulanae Shabazz.
  • Lake Charles News Leader
    • City: Lake Charles
    • Started: 1966
    • Stopped: 1973
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Monroe Broadcast (also known as The Southern Broadcast)
    • City: Monroe
    • Started: 1932
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Was published at least until 1937.
  • The Monroe Dispatch
    • City: Monroe
    • Started: 1971 or 1975
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Official site: https://www.monroedispatchonline.com/. Published by F.J. DeTeige and edited by Irma Hall DeTeige.
  • Black Free Press (also known as Free Press and Rapping Black from 1969–1973)
    • City: Monroe
    • Started: 1969
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Official site: https://www.monroefreepress.net/. Started by Roosevelt Wright, Jr., as a flyer to share news about the local civil rights movement.
  • Monroe News Leader
  • The Fraternal Herald
    • City: Plaquemine
    • Started: 1930
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Published by Tabernacle Herald Publishing House.
  • New Orleans Broadcast - Fraternal Herald
  • The Drum
    • City: Ponchatoula
    • Started: 1980s
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Official site: http://www.thedrumnewspaper.info/. Free online archive
  • Baton Rouge Scotland Press
    • City: Scotlandville
    • Started: 1970s
    • Stopped: 1980s
    • Type: Weekly
  • Shreveport Afro-American
    • City: Shreveport
    • Started: 1920s
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Was published at least until 1932.
  • Councilor
    • City: Shreveport
    • Started: 1962
    • Stopped: 1981
    • Type: Monthly newspaper
  • The Shreveport Sun (also known as The Shreveport Sun And Bis News from 1964–1966)
    • City: Shreveport
    • Started: 1920
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Official site: https://www.sunweeklynews.com/. Founded by Melvin Lee Collins, Sr.
  • The Echo (also known as L'écho)
    • City: St. Martinville
    • Started: 1872
    • Stopped: 1878
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Published by J.F. Penne. It was the "Official journal of the Parish of St. Martin" and was printed in both English and French.
  • The Lafourche Monitor
    • City: Thibodaux
    • Started: Around 1905
    • Type: Twice monthly
    • Notes: Published by Knights and Ladies of Honor of America. Edited by C.H. Ballard. Was published at least until 1936.
  • The Concordia Eagle
    • City: Vidalia
    • Started: 1873
    • Stopped: 1890
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Free online archive. Published by David Young.

Newspapers from New Orleans

  • The New Orleans Advocate
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1866
    • Stopped: 1869
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Black PAC Epitaph
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1970s
    • Notes: Was published at least in 1972.
  • The Black Republican
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1865
    • Stopped: 1865
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Published by the Black Republican Newspaper Association.
  • The Carrollton Advocate
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1970
    • Stopped: 1970
    • Type: Irregular
  • The Crusader (first one)
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1889
    • Stopped: 1890s
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Crusader (second one)
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1889
    • Stopped: 1891 or 1898
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Daily Crusader
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1891
    • Stopped: 1896
    • Type: Daily
  • The Daily Spokesman
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1914
    • Stopped: 1900s
    • Type: Daily
  • Black Data Newsweekly (also known as Data, Data Newsweekly, New Orleans Data News Weekly)
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1967
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly or biweekly
    • Notes: Official site: https://ladatanews.com/
  • Le Dimanche
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1861
    • Stopped: 1876
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Published by Theard and Trosclair. It was written in French. Some people question if it was truly an African American newspaper because it supported ideas of white supremacy.
  • The Free South
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1868
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Published by W.P. Allen.
  • The New Orleans Herald
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1925
    • Stopped: 1925
    • Type: Biweekly
  • The Hope for the Future
  • New Orleans Informer And Sentinel (also known as New Orleans Informer and Sentinel)
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1940
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Was published at least until 1944.
  • Inside New Orleans
  • L'Union (also known as Le Union: Journal Politique, Litteraire et Progressiste and The Union from 1863–1864)
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1862
    • Stopped: 1864
    • Type: Three times a week
    • Notes: This was the very first African American newspaper in Louisiana. It was in French until July 1863, then in both French and English. The English version was quite different from the French one.
  • The Louisiana Weekly
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1925
    • Status: Still being published!
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Official site: http://www.louisianaweekly.com/
  • National Negro Voice
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1924
    • Type: Monthly newspaper
    • Notes: Published by R.A. Flynn. Was published at least until 1931.
  • The Negro Gazette
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1872
    • Stopped: 1872
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: "Published every Saturday morning during the presidential campaign."
  • The Plain Truth Of New Orleans
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1969
    • Stopped: 1970
    • Type: Bimonthly newspaper
  • The Republican Courier
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1899
    • Stopped: 1900
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Louisiana Republican
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1881
    • Stopped: 1882
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Published in both English and French.
  • New Orleans Sentinel
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1940
    • Stopped: 1940s
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Sepia Socialite
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1937
    • Stopped: 1945
    • Type: Weekly
  • Southern Republican
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1898
    • Stopped: 1907
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Edited by Joseph LeBlanc.
  • Southwestern Advocate
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1873
    • Stopped: 1876
    • Type: Biweekly
    • Notes: Published for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Louisiana.
  • Southwestern Christian Advocate
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1877
    • Stopped: 1929
    • Type: Weekly
  • The Spectator
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1982
    • Stopped: 1983
    • Type: Weekly
  • La Tribune de la Nouvelle-Orléans (also known as New Orleans Tribune)
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1864
    • Stopped: Around 1870
    • Type: Daily from 1864 to 1869
    • Notes: This was the first African American daily newspaper in the United States. It was published in both English and French.
  • The Louisianian (also known as Semi-weekly Louisianian from 1871–1872 and The Weekly Louisianian)
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1870
    • Stopped: 1882
    • Type: Weekly or twice a week
    • Notes: You can find old issues online: Semi-weekly Louisianian, The Weekly Louisianian, The Louisianian
  • The Weekly Pelican
    • City: New Orleans
    • Started: 1886
    • Stopped: 1889
    • Type: Weekly
    • Notes: Edited by John L. Minor.

See also

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