📰 The Black Press: Our Voice, Our Power, Our Legacy

Launched in 1827, Freedom’s Journal was the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States. Its bold mission—‘We wish to plead our own cause’—laid the foundation for nearly two centuries of independent Black journalism, including The Chronicle News.”

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Before hashtags, before podcasts, before algorithms curated the news, there was The Black Press.

Born from resistance and rooted in truth, the Black press has always been more than just ink on paper. It represented survival. It embodied defiance. It was liberation on every page.

In 1827, Freedom’s Journal, the first African American-owned and operated newspaper in the United States, declared boldly:

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

That declaration echoed through generations. It sparked a chain reaction across the country—from The North Star, founded by Frederick Douglass, to The Chicago Defender, which gave voice to the Great Migration, to The Pittsburgh Courier and California Eagle, chronicling both the pain and power of Black America.

These weren’t just newspapers—they were lifelines. They told the truth when white-owned media wouldn’t. They covered lynchings, protests, elections, and Sunday sermons with equal care. They named our dead. They honored our leaders. They told our stories when nobody else would dare.

The Chronicle Newspaper Joins the Lineage

In May 1986, my parents, Larry “Jay Price” Carter and Carolyn Carter, picked up that baton and founded The Chronicle News right here in Lansing. With a typewriter and an unstoppable vision, they carved out a space where our community could see itself reflected with pride and complexity.

It wasn’t just about headlines. It was about heritage.

Over the past 39 years, The Chronicle has been a watchtower, a mirror, a drumbeat. We’ve uplifted pastors, profiled poets, stood up for the voiceless, and passed the mic to the next generation. We’ve told stories from the block to the ballot box—because that’s what the Black press has always done.

We’re proud to be part of this sacred continuum—a legacy built by the brave, the bold, and the beautifully Black. As newsrooms across the country shrink or shut down, Black-owned media like The Chronicle remain, still rooted in the community, still reporting from love, not lenses.

Sidebar: Icons of the Black Press

A few of the names that shaped the movement:

• Freedom’s Journal (1827 – NYC) – First Black newspaper in the U.S.

• The North Star – Founded by Frederick Douglass in 1847

• The Chicago Defender – Influential voice during the Great Migration

• Pittsburgh Courier – One of the largest and most powerful Black papers of the 20th century

• California Eagle – Led by activist Charlotta Bass

• Amsterdam News – Harlem’s historic Black paper, founded in 1909

• Michigan Chronicle – A leading voice for Black Detroit and Michigan

“If the mainstream media won’t tell our stories, we’ll print our truth.”