Many important Americans, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and Frederick Douglass, had ties to newspapers that advocated for equal rights, discussed issues central to the lives of African Americans, and reported on stories the mainstream press refused to cover. The legacy of the African American press is one that carries on today. This essential volume reveals the black press''s role in the abolition of slavery, the establishment of civil rights, desegregation, and today''s fight against racism and prejudice.