The film “The Black Press” explains the effects of African American newspapers on social and political life in America. Navigating life after slavery was often guided by the images and ideas seen in mainstream media. The press attempted to counteract the images of vilification and oppression by giving blacks as sense of worth and power. The press created a sense of control for black Americans that would allow them to change the course of history.
After decades of vilification and oppression without any power, African Americans found a new freedom in the press. A sense of control loomed over the black community when the first black newspaper, “Freedom’s Journal,” was published in 1827. John Russworm and Samuel Cornish were selected as …show more content…
A prime example is the Great Migration of blacks from the South to the North and west. Hundreds of thousands of African Americans fled from the South in search of a better life and fairer wages. What they found had little difference than the Jim Crow laws ruling the South. In the North, they did often find better wages but there was still so much racism and segregation in the North. Northerners saw blacks as competition in the job market because they were hired in place of union workers who went on strike. The Chicago Defender was an black newspaper that was immensely popular. At its peak, it would reach at least 500,000 African American readers a week. The Chicago Defender advocated tirelessly for blacks to come to live in northern cities. This false image of progressive treatment drove people to find employment in the North. Because the Chicago Defender was a major voice for African Americans, its followers took the advice seriously. The press was as powerful enough as to make major life decisions for some people. Needless to say, the southern economy declined even further than it was after the Civil War. Southerners despised blacks but depended on them for the backbone of their economy. Now that cheap labor was scarce, southerners retaliated towards this movement. Some even thought that blacks were “biologically incompatible” with the North’s cold weather. The Great Migration was motivated by The Chicago Defender and other black newspapers urging everyone to move north. Not only did the press have readers but it also had the power to start a movement that would change the course of history. The main idea that comes to mind when notified of the southern economy starting to fail again is that racism is, like everything else in this country, an economic consequence. Money motivates people to commit acts they wouldn’t dare
After decades of vilification and oppression without any power, African Americans found a new freedom in the press. A sense of control loomed over the black community when the first black newspaper, “Freedom’s Journal,” was published in 1827. John Russworm and Samuel Cornish were selected as …show more content…
A prime example is the Great Migration of blacks from the South to the North and west. Hundreds of thousands of African Americans fled from the South in search of a better life and fairer wages. What they found had little difference than the Jim Crow laws ruling the South. In the North, they did often find better wages but there was still so much racism and segregation in the North. Northerners saw blacks as competition in the job market because they were hired in place of union workers who went on strike. The Chicago Defender was an black newspaper that was immensely popular. At its peak, it would reach at least 500,000 African American readers a week. The Chicago Defender advocated tirelessly for blacks to come to live in northern cities. This false image of progressive treatment drove people to find employment in the North. Because the Chicago Defender was a major voice for African Americans, its followers took the advice seriously. The press was as powerful enough as to make major life decisions for some people. Needless to say, the southern economy declined even further than it was after the Civil War. Southerners despised blacks but depended on them for the backbone of their economy. Now that cheap labor was scarce, southerners retaliated towards this movement. Some even thought that blacks were “biologically incompatible” with the North’s cold weather. The Great Migration was motivated by The Chicago Defender and other black newspapers urging everyone to move north. Not only did the press have readers but it also had the power to start a movement that would change the course of history. The main idea that comes to mind when notified of the southern economy starting to fail again is that racism is, like everything else in this country, an economic consequence. Money motivates people to commit acts they wouldn’t dare