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The Legacy Of Black Newspaper Publishing Pioneer New York Amsterdam News

The Legacy Of Black Newspaper Publishing Pioneer New York Amsterdam News

New York Amsterdam News

Elinor Ruth Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief of New York Amsterdam News, marks her 20th Anniversary leading the publication at an event in 2014. (Photo: New York Amsterdam News via Bill Moore)

New York Amsterdam News is one of the pioneer Black newspaper publishers in the country and its legacy continues today in a digital format.

Based in Harlem, the paper was founded by 24-year-old James H. Anderson at his home. He published its first edition on Dec. 4, 1909. The inaugural edition was six pages long, handwritten and sold for two cents (which is $1 by today’s standards), according to a report by The New York Times.

It was one of only 50 Black-owned newspapers in the country at the time. In a scholarly article about the newspaper’s history, it was reported Anderson founded the paper “… with a dream in mind, $10 in his pocket, six sheets of paper and two pencils.”

Anderson sold the paper to publisher Sadie Warren in 1926, who helmed Amsterdam News for nine years. By then, the newspaper had garnered a robust readership but was impacted by a strike against it led by columnist Heywood Broun in 1935.

The strike was a first for a Black-owned publication and the paper may not have recovered if two Black doctors didn’t purchase it, Dr. P. N. H. Savory and Dr. Clilian B. Powell, the Times reported. The duo owned and operated the paper together until Dr. Savory died in 1965 and Powell purchased sole ownership.

In 1971, at the age of 75, Powell said, “At my age, it’s time to retire.” After a failed attempt to sell the paper to employees due to them being unable to come up with the funding to purchase it, Powell sold the paper to another all‐black group led by then-Manhattan Borough President Percy E. Sutton and Clarence B. Jones, an attorney and stockbroker.

“It was only after the employees had made repeated, but unsuccessful efforts to come up with the money that I finally sold it to the Sutton‐Jones group,” Powell told the Times. “I have high hopes that Mr. Sutton and Mr. Jones will carry on the newspaper for the best interest of the employees and the Black community.”

In addition to Sutton and Jones, the newspaper was owned by Rev. H. Carl McCall, Wilbert Tatum and John B. Edmonds, who was also an attorney. The corporate name of the group was Amnews Corporation and the men ranged in age from their mid-30s to 50.

At the time of the sale, New York Amsterdam News had a circulation of more than 82,600 in New York City. It was reportedly the largest of any Black-owned weekly in the country. It also served as a training ground for many Black journalists who went on to write at other major publications.

New York Amsterdam News reported on issues relevant to Black life. Among them was heavy coverage of the Civil Rights Movement, which led to it being one of the first publications to highlight Malcolm X and publish his column “God’s Angry Man,” according to the “About” section on its website.

The paper also published columns from many other influential Black leaders including W.E.B. DuBois, then-NAACP President Ben Jealous, Rep. Charles Rangel and activist Roy Wilkins.

At the time of the acquisition, Amnews Corp. said it didn’t plan any major changes in coverage but vowed to continue the vital work of helping Black people control their own narratives.

“The most important factor in the developing of Black progress in the next decade is the communications system,” Sutton said. “Black persons must control elements in the news media in order to liberate themselves.”

In 1982, board chair and publisher Wilbert A. Tatum expanded the paper’s editorial coverage to include international affairs. Tatum then gained sole ownership of New York Amsterdam News in 1996.

Tatum retired in 1997 and appointed his 26-year-old daughter Elinor Ruth Tatum as editor-in-chief. The paper has since moved online to a fully digital format and Elinor is still the EIC today. Amnews is still also the owner of the publication.

In addition to the accomplishments mentioned above, New York Amsterdam News was the first Black newspaper to unionize due to the 1935 strike and the second Black newspaper to be admitted to the Audit Bureau of Circulation.

Its legacy continues.