''Jackson Advocate'' is an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 poli ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

History

The newspaper was founded in 1938 by

Percy Greene Percy Greene (1897–1977) was an American newspaper editor, and journalist. Greene created the ''Jackson Advocate'', Mississippi's first and oldest black-owned newspaper. In the 1940s and 1950s, Greene had been a staunch civil rights activist; bu ...

. Greene, a veteran of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and a Civil Rights leader in the 1940s and 1950s, was determined to make a contribution to the struggle of African-American people in the South during a time when they were severely oppressed by legal segregation and

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

. In 1940 Greene and 30 other publishers formed a consortium of African-American newspapers to bring relevant information to black readers in the USA. That association led to the Negro Newspaper Publishers Association, which promoted coverage of injustices against and accomplishments by African Americans.Front Line Defenders.org
"Human Rights Defender Charles Tisdale"
In 1978, Charles Tisdale became the owner and publisher of the ''Jackson Advocate'', positions which he held until his death aged 80 in 2007.

Awards

The paper has received numerous awards and citations in its 68 years of service in reporting news and events in the African-American community, including the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus Award for Excellence, the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African Americans, African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., ...

Journalism Award, and the

National Black Chamber of Commerce The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) was incorporated as ''The National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc.'', in 1993. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of African American comm ...

Newspaper of the Year. In 1988 ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' magazine referred to the ''Advocate'' as a "national treasure".

References

External links

* African-American newspapers Newspapers published in Mississippi Mass media in Jackson, Mississippi Newspapers established in 1938 1938 establishments in Mississippi {{Mississippi-newspaper-stub