The Baltimore Afro-American 1892-1950

Subjects:

• History » American History -- 1900 to 1945
• Communications » Journalism
• Multicultural Studies » Black Studies

Reviews:

• To support this far-reaching conclusion, Farrar has organized the book in a rather atypical fashion....Well-researched, this book is amply supported by a host of primary source materials....[T]he author has rounded out his study with personal interviews and documents provided by the Murphy family....This book would be a solid supplementary text in courses about journalism history, race, and public opinion and the media.
  —Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
• [A] valuable contribution to understanding the role of the black press in laying the groundwork for the civil rights gains of the 1950s and 1960s....The work is well written and is useful to historians.
  —Journalism History
• [I]t is encyclopdeic in scope and provides a well-documented history of the editorial policies and politics of the Baltimore Afro-American....Farrar's book provides an excellent synopsis of the Baltimore Afro-American as a black-owned business, a community advocate, and a forum for the voiceless....[T]he research-hungry student will find much fodder for further study in these pages....In addition to being interesting and analytical this work demonstrated that the owners and editorial writers maintained a gadfly mentality in order to provoke the African-American intelligentisa, as well as the working class, in their relentless quest for full cizitenship in their state and nation.
  —Maryland Historical Magazine
• The book shows clearly and in considerable detail the interrelationships among community leaders and the considerable overlap in areas of expertise and participation as these people worked together in numerous efforts. It is the best published source for much of this information....Any scholar interested in African American history, the general history of the late nineteenth century, the history of journalism, or community history should read this interesting work.
  —The Journal of Southern History
• ...presents a thorough and painstaking history of this important African American newspaper for the first 50-plus years of its life....The history not only describes the content of the newspaper, as most histories of publications do, but it also provides insight into the business of the newspaper, as most histories of publications do, but it also provides insight into the business of the newspaper and into the personal relationships of its owners and employees. With such success and a well-rounded approach, Farrar presents a full picture of the publication.
  —Communication Booknotes Quarterly

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Introduction
• Steady and Sure: The Afro-American's Development as a Business
• But Slowly: The Afro-American and Black Education
• Failure, Futility, and Frustration: The Afro-American as a Political Force
• A Place to Work, A Place to Own, A Place to Live: The Afro-American's Crusade for Jobs, Business, and Housing
• And Justice for All: The Afro-American's Crusade for Criminal Justice
• Lifting as It Climbed: The Afro-American's Morality Crusades
• Which Way for the Black Community? The Afro-American Considers Washington, Du Bois, Garvey, and Communism
• In War and Peace: The Afro-American Covers the World
• A Public Place for Black Folk: The Afro-American's Civil Rights Crusades
• The Years Beyond: The Afro-American since 1950
• Notes
• A Note on Sources
• Selected Bibliography
• Index