Introduction

Abstract

This chapter introduces readers to the book’s core arguments and aims by focusing on the overlapping histories of American print media, the built environment, and Black Chicago. It first explores the relationship between print and place in the history of the American press before focusing on the development of the Black press and the relationship between race, space, and media production. It then examines the historiography of Black Chicago, tracing a shift in scholarly focus from histories of containment and the “Black Belt” to the cultural and political vibrancy of the “Black Metropolis,” and placing Chicago’s Black press at the heart of this scholarly and conceptual shift. It also establishes the book’s structure and highlights key archival material.