Indianapolis Freeman

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The Indianapolis Freeman, first published on July 14, 1888, by Edward Elder Cooper in Indianapolis, Indiana, was the first illustrated black newspaper in the United States.[1] Cooper sold the paper to George L. Knox in 1892. Knox shifted the paper's political allegiance from Democratic to Republican, since he was one of the most influential Black Republicans in Indiana. The paper shifted back toward the Democratic Party again in its final days due to the power of the Ku Klux Klan over the Indiana Republican Party.[citation needed] It was circulated nationally and considered by many the leading black newspaper in America. Hurt by inflation following World War I and competition from the more locally-focused Indianapolis Recorder, the paper ceased publication in 1926.[2][3]

The paper frequently featured the writings of Richard W. Thompson, who was managing editor from 1888 to 1893.[4]

Historic significance[]

Unlike other Black newspapers that reprinted photographs, woodcuts, and drawings at the time, the Indianapolis Freeman had a full staff of African American artists dedicated to producing original illustrations for the newspaper. The paper published representations of blackness created by Black artists for a Black viewership. The intention of the newspaper to replace white perceptions of blackness with Black representation of blackness was noted by repetition of the phrases "as observed by the Freeman's Artist" and "as seen by the artist" in illustration captions.[5]

The Freeman employed Black agents across the country from its start, claiming to have over 200 agents in towns and cities nationally by 1914. The Freeman boasted the largest circulation of any Black newspaper, and the publication included more advertisements for Black entertainment than any other paper.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Ratzlaff, Aleen J. (2009). "Illustrated African American Journalism: Political Cartooning in the Indianapolis Freeman". In Sachsman, David B. (ed.). Seeking a voice: images of race and gender in the 19th century press. S. Kittrell Rushing, Roy Morris, Jr. West Lafayette: Purdue UP. pp. 131–140. ISBN 9781557535054.
  2. ^ Taylor Jr., Robert M. (1994). "Indianapolis Freeman". In David J. Bodenhamer (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Robert Graham Barrows. Indiana UP. p. 781. ISBN 9780253312228. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  3. ^ Giffin, William W. (June 1, 1983). "The Political Realignment of Black Voters in Indianapolis, 1924". Indiana Magazine of History – via scholarworks.iu.edu.
  4. ^ Booker T. Washington, Louis R. Harlan, The Booker T. Washington Papers: 1899-1900 University of Illinois Press, 1976
  5. ^ Williams, Andreá (2015). "Cultivating Black Visuality: The Controversy over Cartoons in the Indianapolis "Freeman"". American Periodicals. 25 (2): 124–138.
  6. ^ Thornbrough, Emma (1966). "American Negro Newspapers, 1880-1914". Business History Review. 40 (4): 467–490.
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