''The Atlanta Inquirer'' was founded on July 31, 1960 by
Jesse Hill
Jesse Hill Jr. (May 30, 1926 – December 17, 2012) was an African American civil rights activist. He was active in the civic and business communities of the city for more than five decades. Hill was president and chief executive officer of the A ...
,
Herman J. Russell
Herman Jerome Russell (December 23, 1930 – November 15, 2014) was an entrepreneur and influential figure in Atlanta, Georgia.
Business career
Russell served as the first African American member of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He founded H. ...
, and various students of the
Atlanta Student Movement
The Atlanta Student Movement was formed in February 1960 in Atlanta by students of the campuses Atlanta University Center (AUC). It was led by the Committee on the Appeal for Human Rights (COAHR) and was part of the Civil Rights Movement.
His ...
including
Julian Bond
Horace Julian Bond (January 14, 1940 – August 15, 2015) was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the e ...
,
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Charlayne Hunter-Gault (born February 27, 1942) is an American civil rights activist, journalist and former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, CNN, and the Public Broadcasting Service. Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the ...
,
Lonnie King
Lonnie C. King Jr. (August 30, 1936 – March 5, 2019) was an American civil rights leader. Beginning in 1960, he launched the Atlanta Student Movement, wrote the Appeal for Human Rights, and subsequently started the Committee on Appeal for Hum ...
, and many other students in the
Atlanta University Center
The Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUC Consortium) is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The center consists of four historically black colleges and univers ...
.
It was the second black newspaper published in Atlanta.
Carl Holman, a professor at
Clark College
Clark College is a public community college in Vancouver, Washington. With 11,500 students, Clark College is the largest institution of higher education in southwest Washington. Founded in 1933 as a private two-year junior college, Clark Colleg ...
, became the editor of the newspaper after the first issue edited by Bill Strong.
The paper was a radical response to the conservative ''
Atlanta Daily World
The ''Atlanta Daily World'' is the oldest black newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 1928. Currently owned by Real Times Inc., it publishes daily online.
It was "one of the earliest and most influential black newspapers."
History Establ ...
'' which was the first black newspaper in Atlanta.
''The Inquirer'' reported on black leadership in the civil rights movement in Atlanta.
After being bought by the family of a longtime employee of the paper, John B. Smith Sr., he became the publisher, editor, and chief executive officer of the newspaper until his death in 2017. The Atlanta Inquirer is also a member of the
National Newspaper Association
The National Newspaper Association (NNA) is a Pensacola, FL based non-profit newspaper trade association founded in 1885. The organization has over 2,300 members, making it the largest newspaper trade association in the United States. The organiza ...
where John B. Smith Sr. was the chairman.
References
{{Reflist
Newspapers published in Atlanta
African-American newspapers
1960 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)