First Black Newspaper

February 21, 2008

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Profile America for the 21st day of Black History Month. The first African-American newspaper in the U.S. was published in New York City on March 16, 1827. Called Freedom’s Journal, it was the work of John Russwurm — the first black college graduate — and his partner, Samuel Cornish. The event is commemorated each year as Black Press Day. Today, African-Americans are getting the word out in a big way. They own more than 3,000 publishing firms, and 2,300 Internet businesses. In total, this population group owns more than 14,000 communications firms across the nation, generating revenue of $2.5 billion a year. This special edition of Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.