The Black Press progresses chronologically from abolitionist newspapers to todays Internet and reveals how the black presss content and its very form changed with evolving historical conditions in America. The essays address the production, distribution, regulation, and reception of black journalism, illustrating a more textured public discourse, one that exchanges ideas not just within the black community, but also within the nation at large. The contributors demonstrate that African American journalists redefined class, restaged race and nationhood, and reset the terms of public conversation, providing a fuller understanding of the varied cultural battles fought throughout our countrys history.

Todd Vogel is the director of American Studies and a visiting assistant professor of English and American Studies at Trinity College, Connecticut. His journalistic work has appeared in Business Week, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Dallas Morning News.

"Ambitious and wide-ranging, a number of the essays in The Black Press reflect the best and most innovative interpretive strategies in African American and Black diaspora studies."Kevin Gaines, University of Michigan

"The work of historical recuperation provided by The Black Press is especially valuable not only for what it tells us about the evolution of black culture in the United States, but also for what it reveals about the undercurrents of American culture at key moments in history."Eric J. Sundquist, Northwestern University