The press of the South of Ukraine about the struggle of African Americans for rights and freedoms after the abolition of slavery in the United States

Abstract

The article examines the publications of the Odesa press of the second half of the 19th century on coverage of issues of granting rights and freedoms to African Americans after the abolition of slavery in the United States. The regional press formed the public opinion of the South of Ukraine. The main problems that were raised on the pages of the periodicals were identified. The main areas of reflection of life abroad were assessments of internal, economic and foreign policy development of countries. The main problems that were raised in the materials about the United States on the pages of the then editions of Odesa are identified. It is shown that the study of publications on the origins of racism and discrimination in a civilized society is one of the most important tasks today. The publications of the South of Ukraine themselves are an important historical source according to the existing ideas of the region's population about the development of the United States. The Odesa newspapers published various news about everyday life of the population abroad. The article indicates that it was difficult for journalists of that time to objectively present information through the political situation. Despite the conditions in which the journalists had to work, they objectively wrote about the struggle of African Americans for rights and freedoms. The use of politically incorrect words and expressions was revealed, but for that time it was the norm. The article explores the materials of the Odesa press of the second half of the 19th century as the main source of foreign news in the South of Ukraine. In the period under review, the importance of periodicals in the social, political and cultural life of Ukraine was extremely important. Any event immediately became known and appeared in the press.