February is federally labeled, “Black History Month” in the United States. Over this span of 28 days, it is crucial to recognize how Black people have changed the world for the better. As a hometown newspaper, The Journal motioned to accredit Black people for their notable contributions to the Minnesotan press.

Before the 1880s, not a single Black-owned newspaper in Minnesota was prosperous enough to stay afloat past 1914. This was the case because many Black people were not receiving enough pay to purchase subscriptions. Additionally, the national literacy rate among Black Americans was a low 30% at the time. The Western Appeal (later renamed The Appeal) was founded on June 1st, 1885 and would not close until forty years later, in 1925. Thus, it shattered the trend of failure among Black-owned publications. The Minnesota Historical Society describes The Appeal as “one of the longest running publications of its kind in the upper Midwest.”

In 1885, the population of Black people residing in the Twin Cities reached 1,400. Amidst their multiplication, they needed an outlet to announce their accomplishments, communicate, and protest, especially since White journalists would not elevate their voices. Samuel E. Hardy and John T. Burgett were the ones to respond to their people’s desire. After the two businessmen obtained a sufficient amount of resources, funds, and hired an editor by the name of Frederick D. Parker, their newspaper company was prepared.

The Western Appeal hit the market on Friday, June 5th 1885. For the six months that followed, Hardy, Burkett, and Parker produced world, national, and local news for their audience. Correspondents stationed in regional cities like Louisville, Chicago, and Minneapolis helped provide headlines to The Western Appeal’s columns. The newspaper was also characterized by ads, editorials and other papers’ articles about racial inequality early on.

Hardy, Burkett, and Parker were producing a well-rounded product. Even so, The Western Appeal experienced several issues. First of all, when the newspaper debuted, it did not take a solid political stance. Because of this, The Western Appeal did not gain major partisan grants. Secondly, the paper did publish editorials. However, these first texts were not firm enough to rally a large following. Another complication was that the newspaper was expensive to make. More funds were being invested into the product than the amount of money coming in from ads and subscribers. One final issue was Parker’s resignation from the role of editor at the end of 1885. The Western Appeal would need to reverse their flaws in order to continue publishing.

On January 16, 1886, Hardy and Burgett sold the Western Appeal to Appeal Publishing Company’s J.K. Hilyard and Thomas Lyles. Immediately after, the company sought John Quincy Adams. They believed he obtained the skill set to revive The Western Appeal. Adams had been journaling for the Louisville Bulletin and was acting as a news correspondent for the Western Appeal when Hilyard and Lyles notified him. In short, he accepted their calling. August 6, 1886 was the day in which Adams planted new roots in St. Paul, MN. These would ground him there for the rest of his life.

In his 36 years with The Western Appeal/The Appeal, Adams pursued the roles of managing editor, co-editor, editor, and contributing author. For the publication, Adams wrote editorials surrounding the rights of African Americans. He also explored daily life in St. Paul and favored Minnesota’s Republican party. The newspaper now displayed a political stance due to Adams’ influence. Even so, many aspects of The Appeal did not alter under the new editor. For example, they continued to cater local and national news. The Appeal was especially marked by news about Black communities in St. Louis, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth. Advertisements for Black-owned businesses were still plentiful, too. One last defining characteristic of The Appeal was how it placed Black people, Black communities, and Black-owned businesses in the foreground of the media.

Due to these appeals, they evolved to be one of the top Blackowned newspapers in the USA. It touched communities beyond its home state of Minnesota. The Appeal was being printed in Dallas, Washington D.C., St. Louis, Louisville, and Chicago.

Unfortunately, the paper’s trendiness did not last forever. At the threshold of the twentieth century, popularity for The Appeal started to diminish. The year of 1913 arrived and their stations in St. Paul and Minneapolis operated alone. The Appeal no longer possessed their locations in Chicago, Louisville, Dallas, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. To make matters worse, their editor had died suddenly on September 4, 1922.

The Northwestern Bulletin was another Black-owned newspaper set in St. Paul during The Appeal’s decline. In 1924, they declared their purchase of The Appeal. Perhaps this merger could save what the MNHS labels as “the longest lasting and one of the earliest publications of its kind in the upper Midwest”.

This was not the case. The Northwestern Bulletin-Appeal terminated its services in 1925.

Following 1885, the year in which The Western Appeal published its first paper, many more Black-owned publications surfaced in Minnesota. According to MNHS’s collection, some of them differed in political values and content. Withal, they shared the common quality of diversifying the press on a weekly basis.

Afro-Independent (1888), The Negro World (1892-1900), and The Afro-American Advance (1899-1900) associated themselves with the Democratic Party. Even so, The Afro-American Advance reserved space to feature stories about Black Minnesotans. This frontpage series of theirs was entitled, “Prominent Minnesota Afro-Americans.”

Four Black-owned publications in Minnesotan history favored the Republican side of politics. The MNHS claims that “many African American newspapers of the day” assumed this stance. Among them were The Protest (1892), The World (1895-1897), Northwestern-Vine (1901-1903), and The National Advocate (1915-1924). In the two years that The World was operating, they recorded news at a local and regional level, especially magnifying the stories that affected Black people. Unique to The World was their expansion from the Twin Cities into Duluth by 1896. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Northwestern Vine recorded social and personal affairs. They were distinct for their coverage on Twin Cities churches. While a majority of Black-owned newspapers in Minnesota made their political opinions clear, there were three that did not. The Minneapolis Observer (1890) believed in prioritizing the local Black people over politics. Secondly, from 1895 to 1920, The Twin City Guardian focused their energy into advertising local businesses. In fact, in June of 1919 they initiated a bright focus on Black-owned businesses. Lastly, The Twin City American of 1899 claimed to be independent from politics. Rather, they simply aimed to attract the Black community.

Historical Black-owned newspaper businesses based in Minnesota have shaped local journalism. Similarly, two current Black-owned newspaper businesses in Minnesota are still sparking change in the industry. Firstly, Insight News introduces themselves on their Instagram platform as “The Journal for News, Business and The Arts serving the African American community in Minneapolis-St.Paul.”

Like many news outlets, their stories acknowledge world, national, and local headlines. Insight News touches on topics such as lifestyle, business, art, and sports through multimedia. The publication represents Black people in an exceptional way through their platform.

Meanwhile, The Minnesota Spokesman Recorder holds the title of the eldest Black-owned newspaper in the state. In August of 1934, Cecil E. Newman founded two papers that eventually merged into one paper. These were the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St. Paul Recorder. Newman’s granddaughter, Tracey Williams-Dillard, acts as the current CEO and Publisher of the publication.

The Minnesota Spokesman Recorder compiles the work of Black writers and artists to form weekly papers and virtual experiences. They elevate the perspectives of those who are underrepresented in news, health, sports, art, and even the environment.

This February, The Journal invites readers to honor the Black community for the role they have played in improving the media, daily life, art, business, and society in general. Happy Black History Month!

Credits: “African Americans in Minnesota.” MNopedia, www. mnopedia.org/african-americans-minnesota.

“The Appeal.” Minnesota Historical Society, www. mnhs.org/newspapers/hub/appeal.

“African American Newspapers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, 1885-1925.” Minnesota Historical Society, www. mnhs.org/newspapers/hub/african-american-newspapers.

“The Appeal Newspaper Published.” African American Registry, 25 Jan. 2021, aaregistry.org/story/the-appeal- newspaper-was-popular-in-20th-century-black-america/.

Insight News. “The Journal for Business and the Arts.” Insight News, www.insightnews.com/.

“About.” MN Spokesman Recorder, 13 Jan. 2020, spokesman-recorder.com/about/.

Taylor, David V. “John Quinqy Adams St. Paul Editor and Black Leader.” John Quincy Adams Research Minnesota Historical Society, 1973, collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/ articles/43/v43i08p282-296.pdf.