''Negro World'' was the newspaper of the

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...

's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA). Founded by Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey, the newspaper was published weekly in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, and distributed internationally to the UNIA's chapters in more than forty countries. Distributed weekly, at its peak, the ''Negro World'' reached a circulation of 200,000. Notable editors included Marcus Garvey, T. Thomas Fortune, William H. Ferris, W.A. Domingo and Amy Jacques Garvey.

Background

Garvey founded the UNIA in July 1914, and within the organization's first few years had started publishing ''Negro World''. Monthly, ''Negro World'' distributed more copies than '' The Messenger'', '' The Crisis'' and '' Opportunity'' (other important African-American publications). Colonial rulers banned its sales and even possession in their territories, including both

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

and

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

possessions. Distribution in foreign countries was conducted through black seamen who would smuggle the paper into such areas. ''Negro World'' ceased publication in 1933.

Content

For a nickel, readers received a front-page editorial by Garvey, along with poetry and articles of international interest to people of African ancestry. Under the editorship of Amy Jacques Garvey the paper featured a full page called "Our Women and What They Think". ''Negro World'' also played an important part in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. The paper was a focal point for publication on the arts and African-American culture, including poetry, commentary on theatre and music, and regular book reviews. Romeo Lionel Dougherty, a prominent figure of the Jazz Age, began writing for ''Negro World'' in 1922.

Contributors

Notable editors and contributors to ''Negro World'' included: * Duse Mohamed Ali * John Edward Bruce * Wilfred Adolphus Domingo * William Henry Ferris * Timothy Thomas Fortune * William Henderson Franklin * Amy Ashwood Garvey * Amy Jacques Garvey * Hubert Henry Harrison * Samuel Alfred Haynes * Zora Neale Hurston * John G. Jackson * Robert Lincoln Poston * Andy Razaf * Joel Augustus Rogers * Arthur Schomburg * William Alexander Stephenson * Eric Walrond * Carter Godwin Woodson

References

{{African American press 1918 establishments in New York (state) 1933 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct weekly newspapers Defunct African-American newspapers African-American history between emancipation and the civil rights movement Defunct newspapers published in New York City Newspapers established in 1918 Publications disestablished in 1933 Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League African-American newspapers published in New York (state)