Historical African American Newspapers

The Libraries have added two African American newspapers to our collection on the Proquest Black Newspapers platform.  The Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005) is the oldest and largest black newspaper in the western United States and the largest African-American owned newspaper in the U.S. It is also the only paid-circulation African American newspaper in Southern California, upon which its coverage focuses.  The Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1991) is the most influential newspaper focusing on African-Americans in Cleveland and all Ohio.  It has provided extensive coverage of the social and religious life in Cleveland’s African-American community, and has also addressed issues of national importance.

Together, these newspapers add geographic diversity to our already extensive collection of historical African American newspapers, which includes the Atlanta World, Baltimore Afro-American, Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News, Norfolk Journal and Guide, Philadelphia Tribune and Pittsburgh Courier.  More recent issues of these and other ethnic newspapers are available in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.