"We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us."

December 30, 2021 3:15 PM

The early pioneers of Black printing and publishing daily risked their lives to make their voices heard: through countless pages of poetry, philosophy, science, religious instruction, tales of heroism and horror, international affairs, stories of Black accomplishments, of Black pride and community building. Black print culture, then, is considerably more than the sum of its extant printed artifacts. It is the complex and unfathomably rich interplay of all its parts, and a reflection of a people, determined, proud, and unwavering in their conviction that Black lives matter.

A history of African-American print and publishing culture, from pamphleteers to The Freedom Journal to the AME Book Concern.
posted by youarenothere (8 comments total)

This is great! I have been trying and failing to find a Michael Harriot thread about black Reconstruction era newspapers to add in the comments. If anyone can find it please make a link.
posted by panhopticon at 8:16 PM on December 30, 2021

This my jam, digging into this weekend and spreading that knowledge all over my brain!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:24 AM on December 31, 2021

This is fantastic! I really appreciate how clearly and connectively the article lays out so many complex pieces of history. Thanks for posting this!
posted by mixedmetaphors at 7:18 AM on December 31, 2021

What a clear and well-written article, on a part of history I knew nothing about. Thanks for helping me end 2021 with a little more knowledge than I would have without this post.
posted by rpfields at 7:29 AM on December 31, 2021

Great addition, xylothek--had missed that and will most certainly give it a watch.
posted by youarenothere at 9:56 AM on December 31, 2021 [1 favorite]

What a great read. I was familiar with some of the writers and their works, but by no means all, and appreciated the footnotes and book recommendations alongside.
posted by Well I never at 11:37 AM on December 31, 2021

Thank you, this is good. Followed various links and ended up at this New Yorker article about Honorée Fanonne Jeffers's book about Phillis Wheatley: How Phillis Wheatley Was Recovered Through History. Jeffers's re-telling of Phillis Wheatley's life, and the poems she wites in her voice, are revealing, touching and painful.
posted by paduasoy at 2:56 PM on December 31, 2021

paduasoy: thanks for linking that also--it was an FPP not so long ago*!

*subject to your subjective experience of time etcetc
posted by youarenothere at 3:39 PM on December 31, 2021