The ''Roanoke Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

History

Fleming Alexander founded the ''Roanoke Tribune'' newspaper in 1939 at 5 Gilmer Avenue, later moved to 312 Henry Street, and then to Melrose Avenue in Roanoke. As an African-American newspaper, it brought attention against the

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the S ...

of Roanoke and Western Virginia, and championed black representation on Roanoke's public boards and better schools for the black children in the segregated South. Beginning in 1950, the company began a weekly newspaper in Charlottesville, ''The Charlottesville Tribune'', edited by T. J. Sellers, which ran for only a couple of years. The ''Tribune'' took an early stand against segregation. The motto on the masthead proclaimed: "Only Negro newspaper published in South Western Virginia." The newspaper has a printed purpose: "1) to promote self-esteem; 2) to encourage RESPECT for self and differences in others, and 3) to help create lasting vehicles through which diverse peoples can unite on some common basis." Later, because of poor health after a car crash in 1971, Fleming Alexander sold the Roanoke Tribune to his daughter, Claudia Alexander Whitworth. The ''Roanoke Tribune'' celebrated its 75th anniversary on April 9, 2014."The History of the ''Roanoke Tribune''"

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* * {{coord , display=title , 37.286 , -79.975 African-American newspapers Newspapers published in Virginia Newspapers established in 1939 Roanoke, Virginia 1939 establishments in Virginia