American Journalism

The 200th anniversary of the founding of Freedom’s Journal and the beginnings of the Black Press

Acknowledging that the story of the Black Press remains under-told, American Journalism: A Journal of Media History announces a call for proposals for a special issue to be published in April 2027 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Freedom’s Journal and the beginnings of the Black Press. We seek original historical research on the transformational role of the Black Press in the United States and across the globe that builds upon the groundbreaking scholarship produced since the 1970s.

On the occasion of this bicentennial anniversary, our goal is to build on foundational scholarship that has documented the power of the Black Press with work that asks new questions and presents new theoretical and methodological approaches, insights, and arguments.

Proposals should be two to five pages, including a title or a two-sentence summary, a 250-word abstract, and a narrative that explains the scope of the project, its theme or argument, and its significance. Proposals should demonstrate familiarity with the relevant literature and historical context, as well as historiography, provide examples of primary sources, and address how the author plans to develop and structure the work.

Topics may include, but are not limited to, studies of:

• Voice, agency, and identity within the Black Press;
• The politics of race and constructions of race, gender, class, and sexuality;
• The advocacy press and the struggle for racial justice and a New America;
• The global influence of the Black Press;
• The business and economics, including advertising and public relations, of the Black Press;
• the Black Press before and after the Kerner Commission report;
• Moments when the Black Press clashes with–or collaborates alongside–the mainstream, “white” Press in the United States and elsewhere;
• the Black Press and New Media—Black Owned and Operated Radio and Television Stations
• The status of the Black Press—Iterations of the Black Press in the age of digital/social media;
• the Black Press as a tool for researching family history
• New directions in the study of the Black Press, including discussions of theory, methodology and pedagogy