The New York Age was a prominent newspaper produced from 1887 to 1960 and was one of the most influential black newspapers of its time. The paper had its origins as the weekly New York Globe (not to be confused with the daily The New York Globe founded in 1904), an African-American newspaper that was published weekly from at least 1880 to November 8, 1884. Co-founded by editor Timothy Thomas Fortune, a former slave, it became The [New York] Freeman from November 22, 1884, to October 8, 1887, published six times weekly. It was co-owned by Jerome B. Peterson, who in 1904 was made the American consul in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.
The paper then became the weekly New York Age from October 15, 1887, to February 27, 1960. Fred R. Moore bought the paper in 1907. From 1953 to 1957, it was titled the New York Age Defender. Weekly Began with Vol. 1, no. 1 (October 15, 1887); ceased with Vol. 74, no. 1 (March 14, 1953).
When did the press begin?
The black press is a critical—but often ignored—aspect of African American history and culture. Along with churches, political and service organizations, cultural institutions, and schools and universities, the black press has been central to community formation, protest and advocacy, education and literacy, and economic self-sufficiency. Since the earliest known black-owned and published newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, was founded in New York in the year 1827 by John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish, the black press has provided a public sphere for an aggrieved community barred from mainstream channels of discourse. They could no longer tolerate the constant denigration of the black population in the pages of the mainstream press. By the Civil War, 40 black newspapers were being published. And, during the 1920s and ’30s, when major papers virtually ignored black America, the glory days of the black press began.
What was the role of the African American newspapers?
In the late 19th century, the main reason that newspapers were created was to uplift the black community. Many black people sought to assimilate into the larger society, and Northern blacks felt that it was their duty to educate Southern blacks on the mores of Victorian society. They were created to eradicate racism and promote civil rights. The Black press dedicated itself to rebuilding Black communities and Black political movements; it advocated emancipation and contributed to rebuilding Black communities. And then, it worked hard to warn African-Americans of dangers.
The 1974 Reawakening of the Black Weekly
The New York Age, a firebrand fighter of racial injustice that died in the nineteen fifties, its zeal spent, was born again with its demeanor changed but its aim primarily the same. Adam C. Powell, the executive editor of the weekly newspaper, said that the paper would attempt to regain the eminence of the old Age, which was known during its heyday as the “distinguished black newspaper of opinion.”
Mr. Powell, 27 years old, a diffident man seemingly the antithesis of the volcanic editor and founder of The Age, T. Thomas Fortune, Showed a front‐page dummy of the new weekly. In a box on the page, the paper promises to “follow the tradition established over more than seven decades of publishing the original Age.”
The Modern-day New York Age: A Tribute to the historical newspaper, The New York Age
As a tribute to the black historical newspaper, an online news platform was built, covering news from the New York area. Thelosangelesexpress.com aims to keep New Yorkers informed of the latest news as it breaks, encompassing fashion, sports, business, health and fitness, lifestyle, and every aspect of life.