Freedom's Journal Research Articles

Prince Hall, Freemasonry, and Genealogy

For scholars of early African-American literature, question of influence can be particularly vexing. American writing about Africa and Africans preceded emergence of first African-American writers by a century or more. On basis of this written record, old historicists could claim that religion made a Phillis Wheatley; only belief in artistic genius or a commitment to of resistance prevents new historicists from saying same, not only about Wheatley but about eighteenth-century Black poet Jupiter Hammon as well. [1] The origins of Black political discourses have proven similarly resistant to historicist unraveling. When did Africans in America begin to describe themselves as a people? How did geographical formulations such as Africa, Ethiopia, and become keywords and conceptual touchstones of early Black nationalism? Robert Alexander Young's Ethiopian Manifesto (1827) and David Walker's Appeal to Colored Citizens of World (1829) are generally acknowledged as primary print instances of Black nationalism or literary Ethiopianism, but intellectual prehistories of Manifesto and Appeal remain subject of speculation and debate. W. E. B. Du Bois claimed that the tale of Ethiopia Shadowy and Egypt Sphinx was a remnant of Egyptian and ideas preserved by diaspora's scattered tribes. [2] Following Du Bois, some scholars continue to affirm veiled origins of Black nationalism, Ethiopianism. and Egyptophilia as products of instinct, ideology, or experi ence. Others have attempted to specify textual sources for these traditions. St. Clair Drake emphasized influence of Biblical proof texts on development of Ethiopianism. More recently, it has been suggested that African-Americans first got idea of a glorious African past from eighteenth-century excerpted in American Colonization Society's African Repository and reprinted in Freed om's Journal (1827-1828) (Dain 146-47). Three lately republished and repopularized eighteenth-century speeches--John Marrant's Sermon to African Lodge of Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons (1789) and Prince Hall's Charges to Lodge at Charlestown (1792) and Metonomy (1797)--suggest a more extensive and complex history for Ethiopianism. [4] Prince Hall established African Lodge of Freemasons in Boston in 1780s and invited celebrity evangelist John Marrant to serve as its chaplain. In Sermon and Charges, Marrant and Hall expostulated a vital and portentous genealogy of African America. Their public claims to a common Black history and destiny--to legacy of Ancient Egypt and prophetic future of Ethiopia--prefigure and precede similar claims by David Walker and Robert Alexander Young. These three speeches document an early and little understood chapter in Black intellectual history, and they posit a much earlier point of inception for literary Ethiopianism than that generally agreed upon by scholars of th e discourse. Marrant's Sermon and Hall's Charges also reveal influence of early American mysticism on development of Ethiopianist tradition. Prince Hall's initiation into Freemasonry in 1775 admitted him to a parallel universe where Hermeticism, Egyptophilia, and Kabbalism flourished alongside, if not intertwined with, Enlightenment rationalism. [5] By time he invited John Marrant to give 1789 Sermon to African Lodge, Hall had spent fourteen years wending his way through fraternal networks and dusty bookshelves of New England Freemasonry. His researches in mystical vernacular prepared him to compose an unnatural history of African America, a counternarrative to eighteenth-century empiricisms and natural histories which classified Africa as a cipher, perpetually primitive and unintelligible. [6] More than an archival resource, Freemasonry was also a venue for exercise of cultural authority. …

Race, Money, Politics and the Antebellum Black Press

When John Russworm and Samuel Cornish launched the first African American newspaper, Freedom's Journal, in 1827, there seemed to be a vast and untapped audience hungering for news by and about the black community. In the first issue they optimistically observed that there were FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND free persons of colour, one half of whom might peruse, and the whole be benefitted by the publication of the Journal.(1) But within a year Russworm had left the paper after the two clashed over the question of black colonization in Africa. Cornish renamed the paper the Rights of All and continued his quest to make it a dominant cultural and political force among free blacks. By 1829, he could not secure enough subscribers or underwriters to keep the paper going, and the first African American newspaper ceased publication.(2)In the decades before the Civil War, sustenance was rare for the nearly forty African American newspapers that quickly appeared, only to quickly disappear. Russworm and Cornish's expectations of the free black community and its ability to support its own periodicals were clearly flawed. Poverty, illiteracy, competing political agendas, and the social effects of racism and discrimination contributed to the creation of an audience that could not support --financially or otherwise--a single vision of one newspaper. African American publications played a vital role in galvanizing the abolitionist movement, encouraging education and racial improvement, and disseminating the news, yet nearly all operated at a loss and most were short lived.(3)Research on the antebellum black press has focused on the editorial content of these newspapers or the individuals who edited and published them. The most recent comprehensive study on the subject repeatedly points to the financial difficulties of these newspapers, but does not dwell on the specific economic, political, and cultural factors that impeded their success.(4) The often celebratory tone of the history of the black press overshadows the extent to which the dissemination of African American ideas and culture was obstructed in nineteenth century America. Research that considers the origins and maintenance of these obstacles can provide a more realistic understanding of the role of race in the evolution of American journalism.This article is an examination of what happened to a little-known black newspaper, the Provincial Freeman, which was published between 1853-1860 in what is now Canada's Ontario province. The Freeman addressed a diverse community in Canada, comprised of fugitive slaves and African American expatriates, as well as abolitionists and missionaries on both sides of the border. It was among only a half-dozen antebellum black-owned newspapers in North America that lasted more than two years, although it eventually folded on the eve of the Civil War.(5)Scholars have noted that few business records exist for nineteenth-century newspapers, and this is particularly true for small and undercapitalized black newspapers like the Freeman.(6) The lack of financial records does not mean that constructing such a history is impossible; rather, it may take some imagination and vigilance to create an economic profile of these papers.(7) The commentary in editorial columns, surviving correspondence, and other documents provide insight into the struggle for survival of the antebellum African American press. The narrative that unfolds in the pages of these papers describes an uphill battle waged by editors and publishers to build a viable subscription base, solicit donations, recruit advertisers, and receive payment for their product.On the surface, at least, it appears that the problems that plagued the Freeman were not unlike those suffered by countless small-town and rural newspapers across the United states and Canada. Yet, when we consider the competing exigencies of the audience, African American newspapers faced additional obstacles. …

A Critique of the Influence of the Socioeconomic Environment on the Black Press, 1900–1928

ation of the slave and the redemption of Africa, and thus, set the standard for black publications of the future. The first black newspaper, Freedom's Journal, was founded in 1827 by John Russwurm and Samual Cornish, in part, to satisfy an urge of black people to express in their own words their yearnings, desires, and needs. Its first editorial cried, We wish to plead our own case. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the publick been decieved [sic] by misrepresentations, in things which concern us dearly.1 Operating fundamentally from this service perspective, the first black papers had few economic concerns save their survival. During the abolition period, these publications' existence was predicated upon the right and need of free speech in a democratic society. Such was their mission.

The Development of African-American Newspapers in the American West: A Sociohistorical Perspective

Previous articleNext article No AccessThe Development of African-American Newspapers in the American West: A Sociohistorical PerspectiveGayle K. Berardi and Thomas W. SegadyGayle K. Berardi Search for more articles by this author and Thomas W. Segady Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 75, Number 3-4Summer-Fall 1990 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/3031501 Views: 79Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in The Journal of Negro History (1916-2001), which is continued by The Journal of African American History (2002-present). Copyright 1990 The Association for the Study of African American Life and HistoryPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: Jacqueline Bacon The History of Freedom's Journal: A Study in Empowerment and Community, The Journal of African American History 88, no.11 (Nov 2017): 1–20.https://doi.org/10.2307/3559045

Messaging the blackman

Woodfont is executive editor of the University of Michigan's News and Information Services, where he produces Michigan Today. He is also a member of the board of the National Alliance of Third World Journalists. H. Rap Brown was in jail in Louisiana on trumped-up charges. The Black Panther Party was striding around northern California declaring it the right and duty of our ethnic group--the African-American people--to defend itself with arms against brutal police. And there sat I, in what I thought would be a good position to cover the freedom movement, as an editor/writer for Ebony magazine in Chicago. The problem was, in 1968 both Rap Brown and the Panthers were strictly verboten as topics for our country's biggest magazine aimed at African-American readers. Ebony's publisher, John H. Johnson, not only regarded the Panthers as bad apples, but also considered covering them as not worth the financial risk. The advertising leash constrains most mainstream media in the land of the avowed freedom of the press, and a Black publisher runs on the shortest leash. (Which is not to say that there have not been many dauntless and high-principled Black publishers who have sacririced riches to carry the real news, from Joseph Russworm's Freedom's Journal in 1827 and Frederick Douglass's North Star in 1857, to Robert S. Abbott's Chicago Defender in the early decades of this century, to Carlton Goodlett's Sun Reporter in Oakland, California, and Andrew W. Cooper's New York C/ty Sun today.) Regardless of the rationales behind Ebony's censorship, all I knew was that it was barring me and other young writers from covering two of the biggest stories for Black Americans in 1968. I was 26-years old, the same age as Huey, and there he was showing the guts to defy a bunch of racist pigs, and here I

Black Newspapers and the Black Protest Movement: Their Historical Relationship, 1827-1945

BLACK NEWSPAPERS in the United States historically have been closely related to the black protest movement. The black papers began in the context of the abolitionist movement and their continuance has been dependent on their presentation of the situation of black people, and advocacy of changes in the oppressive aspects of that situation. However, a great many changes have occurred in the black setting, the black protest movement and the black press. This article is a study of the changes in these three phenomena and their interrelationships with particular attention to the responses of the black press to the black protest movement from the founding of the first black paper in 1827 until the end of World War II. Pre-Civil War and Civil War Periods. Even during slavery some black people agitated for change. The black press itself began during this period with the establishment of Freedom's Journal in New York City. From the beginning, it was associated with northern urban blacks and, in this earliest period, the press was aimed toward whites. At this time the literate population among blacks was so small and its financial resources so slim that the support of whites was necessary.' The bestknown black papers during the Civil War and pre-war period were those associated with Frederick Douglass, the militant black abolitionist: the North Star and later Frederick Douglass' Paper. Even Douglass had a difficult time keeping the press operating; neither of his papers were self-supporting. During this period most blacks were enslaved, illiterate and unable to take advantage of a black press or to participate in a social movement to protest their situation. The little activity that did occur in the way

In Search of Black Unity: An Interpretation of the Content and Function of ‘Freedom's Journal’

(1977). In Search of Black Unity: An Interpretation of the Content and Function of ‘Freedom's Journal’. Journalism History: Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 123-128.

“Our Own Cause:” ‘Freedom's Journal’ and the Beginnings of the Black Press

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsLionel C. BarrowLionel C. Barrow Jr. is dean of the School of Communications, Howard University, Washington, D.C. This article is adapted from a paper he first presented to the Association for Education in Journalism annual conference, Madison, Wis., August, 1977.

John Browne Russwurm, A Document

Previous articleNext article No AccessDocumentsJohn Browne Russwurm, A DocumentPhilip S. FonerPhilip S. Foner Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 54, Number 4October 1969 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/2716732 Views: 1Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in The Journal of Negro History (1916-2001), which is continued by The Journal of African American History (2002-present). PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: Jacqueline Bacon The History of Freedom's Journal: A Study in Empowerment and Community, The Journal of African American History 88, no.11 (Nov 2017): 1–20.https://doi.org/10.2307/3559045

Free Negroes of the North 1830-1835: A Study in National Cooperation

During the first quarter of the nineteenth century the newly established Negro churches served as training grounds for leaders in the North who were not afraid to demand equality with the whites. After 1825 the demand for self-expression practiced in these churches was translated into the broader field of political and social action; the second quarter of the century witnessed the rise of these leaders to unprecedented heights on the national and international level as the various reform movements got under way. This recognition was greatly facilitated by press notices including those from several Negro publications. In 1827 New York Negroes achieved one of their long-cherished goals in the founding of Freedom's Journal, the first newspaper in the United States to be operated by members of the race. The Journal, edited by John B. Russwurm and Samuel E. Cornish, gave a much needed boost to the morale of all colored people, and an equally needed channel for reaching the publicwhether Negro or white. In this publication the Negro recorded his urge for education, economy, and industry among his people.1 Plans for participa-

Changing Patterns in Negro Leadership

LEADERSHIP involves a group of individuals in which one assumes dominance over the other; the attitudes and values of the group may be changed by the dominant person. It functions in a pressure and counter-pressure fashion, with the group and the leader reacting upon each other.' A clear example of leadership is found in a social situation of unrest and dissatisfaction and involves the aggregation of individuals in masses. From the atmosphere of excitement, crisis, and disorganization it moves to a condition of organization which strives for adjustment. customarily works toward some specific goal which, when achieved, may call for another form of leadership.2 The Negro group in the United States affords an excellent demonstration of the leadership process. Changing patterns of leadership inside this process are consonant with changes in the social climate of given socio-historical periods. The Negro has always formed a large minority of the general population, and his position, directly and indirectly, has been the cause of numerous temporary crises and a more or less permanent state of anxiety. The United States, like all other countries, has experienced at intervals periods of relative upheaval, such as wars, economic depressions, great shifts in population, and so on. Inasmuch as the Negro creates a special problem in relation to all of these, his demands for leadership have been constant and, at the same time, have operated within the sociological pattern which provides the background for leadership in general. The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership of the Negro and to analyze historical changes in terms of a dynamic social atmosphere. This analysis will try to shed some light on such questions as: What changes have occurred in Negro leadership in the past century? What are the sociological implications inherent in these changes? What factors have operated to promote flexibility in the leadership pattern? How is Negro leadership related to the total social structure and to the overall pattern of leadership? During slavery the Negro was largely an unorganized mass, and although constituting a considerably greater proportion of the population than is now the case, he was socially so situated as to be inconsequential in the general social structure. His condition of servitude on large plantations, small farms, or households, provided no opportunity for mass leadership. The character of slavery itself and the pattern in which it operated were not conducive to the development of leaders. There were local occasions, of course, such as slave revolts, which on a reduced scale provided a type of momentary leadership for very small groups,3 but not until about 1830, when the Abolitionist movement became a significant social force, was there any generally recognized leader of American Negroes. Before this date there were Negroes who held some status among small local groups in the North; but communication was not highly developed in the nation at this time, and the almost complete illiteracy of Negroes made it impossible for these persons to reach them and foster group consciousness. However, the coming of a Negro newspaper4 1 A Negro leader is defined here as a person who exerts special influence over a number of people for a period of a decade or more and who has helped to change significantly the position of the Negro in American society. Further, he stands as a distinctive symbol in the struggle, growth, and development of the Negro. 2 For a discussion of the leadership process see Emory S. Bogardus, Leaders and Leadershiip (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., 1934), and Fundamentals of Social Psyclhology (New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., 1942), sections II and IV; F. Stuart Chapin, Leadership and Group Activity, Journal of Applied Sociology, VIII (1923-1924), 141-145; Robert E. Park and Ernest W. Burgess, Introduction to the Science of Sociology (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1921), chap. XII; John L. Gillin and John P. Gillin, An Introduction to Sociology (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1945), chap. XXI. 3 For examples of slave revolts consult Herbert Aptheker, American Negro Slave Revolts (New York: Columbia University Press, 1943), and To Be Free (New York: International Publishers Co., 1948), especially the section on guerilla warfare by runaway slaves, pp. 11-30; John Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1947). 4 The first Negro newspaper, Freedom's Journal, was published in 1827, and prior to the outbreak of the Civil War there were more than 20 Negro newspapers

Freedom's Journal and the Rights of All

Next article No AccessFreedom's Journal and the Rights of AllBella GrossBella Gross Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 17, Number 3July 1932 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/2714274 Views: 11Total views on this site Journal History This article was published in The Journal of Negro History (1916-2001), which is continued by The Journal of African American History (2002-present). Copyright 1932, 1960, 1969 The Association for the Study of African American Life and HistoryPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.