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''St. Louis Argus'' is an 
From humble beginnings as an insurance company newsletter, the St. Louis Argus was built into a professional newspaper by J. E. Mitchell, William Mitchell and their partners. The St. Louis Argus newspaper and its publishing company made great strides. The St. Louis community perceived the newspaper as reliable and its publishers and editors as leaders. J. E. Mitchell, especially, was a recognized leader in the field of black journalism and in the city of St. Louis.
St. Louis Argus website
The St. Louis Argus 1915-1926 Collection
at the Internet Archive
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 ...
-oriented weekly newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...
founded in 1912 by brothers Joseph Everett Mitchell and William Mitchell. It began as a newsletter for an insurance company named Western Union Relief Association. The ''Argus'' is the oldest continuous black business in St. Louis, Missouri.
The name, Argus, refers to ''Argus Panoptes
Argus or Argos Panoptes ( grc, Ἄργος Πανόπτης, All-seeing Argos) is a many-eyed giant in Greek mythology.
Mythology
Argus Panoptes (), guardian of the heifer-nymph Io and son of Arestor and probably Mycene (in other version so ...
'' - a creature from Greek mythology with a hundred eyes that never closed at the same time. The newspaper was to be a never-sleeping crusader. It watched the goings-on in the African-American community and published the stories that would also help the influx of southern blacks who were pouring into St. Louis deal with the "vagaries" of northern segregation.
One primary goal of the St. Louis Argus was to organize the Negro community for political action. The editors of the St. Louis Argus promised its readers that it would be moderate, fair, and fearless in its journalistic efforts. The newspaper championed better schools, educational opportunities, and full civil rights for blacks.
The Argus earned the coveted Russwurm award, named for ''John Brown Russwurm
John Brown Russwurm (October 1, 1799 – June 9, 1851) was an abolitionist, newspaper publisher, and colonizer of Liberia, where he moved from the United States. He was born in Jamaica to an English father and enslaved mother. As a child he t ...
'', one of the founders of the first black newspaper, '' Freedom’s Journal'', which launched in 1827.
From humble beginnings as an insurance company newsletter, the St. Louis Argus was built into a professional newspaper by J. E. Mitchell, William Mitchell and their partners. The St. Louis Argus newspaper and its publishing company made great strides. The St. Louis community perceived the newspaper as reliable and its publishers and editors as leaders. J. E. Mitchell, especially, was a recognized leader in the field of black journalism and in the city of St. Louis.
See also
*'' St. Louis American'' *'' St. Louis Sentinel'' *''Suburban Journals
Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis was a group of publications in the St. Louis region owned by Lee Enterprises. The chain served the St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri and in the Madison, Monroe and St. Clair Counties in Illino ...
''
External links
St. Louis Argus website
The St. Louis Argus 1915-1926 Collection
at the Internet Archive
References