''The Colored American'' was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

newspaper published in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from 1837 to 1842 by Samuel Cornish,

Phillip Alexander Bell Philip Alexander Bell (1808–1889) was a 19th-century American newspaper editor and abolitionist. Born in New York City, he was educated at the African Free School and became politically active at the 1832 Colored Convention. He began his new ...

, and Charles Bennett Ray. When Cornish retired, James McCune Smith joined as co-editor. January161841ColoredAmericankidnappingcase

Initially published under the name ''The Weekly Advocate'', New York's ''Colored American'' was a weekly newspaper of four to six pages. It circulated in free black communities in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

. ''The Colored American'' focused on the moral, social, and political elevation of free colored people and the peaceful emancipation of slaves. The Reverend Lewis Woodson of Pittsburgh wrote a series of ten letters that were printed in the newspaper. The letters advocated elevation through the establishment of schools, newspapers, and churches by black Americans. He wrote the letters under a pen name, Augustine. After the death of abolitionist David Walker, not knowing the cause of his seemingly sudden death, several black intellectuals wrote under pen names. Historian Floyd Miller attributed the title of the 'Father of Black Nationalism' to Woodson, mostly in recognition of the efficacy of the 'Augustine letters',Floyd Miller, "The Father of Black Nationalism," Civil War History, vol 17, no. 4, Dec. 1971 Woodson argued in favor of an ideology that differed from that of another black abolitionist,

William Whipper William Whipper (February 22, 1804 – March 9, 1876) was a businessman and abolitionist in the United States. Whipper, an African American, advocated nonviolence and co-founded the American Moral Reform Society, an early African-American aboli ...

. Whipper ardently favored the improvement of the conditions among black Americans, but did not favor the establishment of separate black institutions, that is black self-determination. Whipper's letters also appeared in The Colored American. The newspaper had widespread subscribers; it engaged agents in various cities for marketing and distribution. The paper also received help from African-American churches and local abolition societies by way of fund drives and donations. Occasionally the newspaper received cash infusions from prominent white allies. All of the donations, fund drives and supplements helped the paper to publish 38 articles and survive through 1841.

Timeline

* January 7, 1837 - Samuel Cornish, Phillip A. Bell, and Charles Bennett Ray launched ''The Weekly Advocate''.The Colored American/Weekly Advocate
at accessible-archives.com * March 4, 1837 - Publisher Robert Sears changes the name to ''The Colored American''. * 1839 - Bell leaves the paper and Charles Bennett Ray became the sole owner of ''The Colored American''. * 1840 - ''The Colored American'' declared in favor of Liberty Party candidate

James G. Birney James Gillespie Birney (February 4, 1792November 18, 1857) was an American abolitionist, politician, and attorney born in Danville, Kentucky. He changed from being a planter and slave owner to abolitionism, publishing the abolitionist weekly '' ...

. * December 25, 1841 - The last edition of the paper was published.

Timeline

See also

References

Further reading