Juneteenth

Established in March 1888, the Athens Clipper is the second-oldest African American-owned newspaper published in Athens, Georgia. Samuel B. Davis owned and edited the four-page Clipper. The paper circulated every Saturday morning from Davis’ office on 116 East Clayton Street. At its peak, the paper had about 700 subscribers at a rate of $1.25 per year. Unlike the older and defunct Athens Blade, which incorporated state and national news, the Clipper featured content focused primarily on religious and local activity in the Athens Black community. Davis was a member of the First African Methodist Episcopal (A. M. E.) Church and supporter of the Republican Party, which were both topics featured in his paper. In July 1890, the Athens Weekly Banner reported the Davis suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen while gambling with playing cards. Davis’ wife, Athens schoolteacher Minnie Davis, took over editing responsibilities while he recovered from his injuries. Davis continued to manage the Clipper until his death in the late 1890s, and Minnie briefly assumed control of the paper until she sold the paper to A. T. Jackson. The Clipper ceased publication in around 1905. Despite over 16 years of circulation, very few copies of the Athens Clipper survived to present day.

John H. Deveaux founded the Colored Tribune in 1875 in Savannah to serve the city's African American community. He renamed the paper the Savannah Tribune the following year. White printers in the city, however, refused to continue printing the paper thus forcing its closure in 1878. Deveaux would reopen the Tribune in 1886 and oriented it as a Republican paper. He continued as editor for several years before passing it to Solomon “Sol” C. Johnson. The paper gave voice to issues of racial injustice, segregation, and other matters relevant to the people of Savannah during Reconstruction. The Tribune remained in print until 1960. Banker Robert E. James resumed publication of the paper in 1973 and the Tribune remained in print ever since.

Successor to Augusta’s first African American newspaper published in the early years of Reconstruction.

The Loyal Georgian’s origins stem from Augusta’s first Black-Republican newspaper, the Colored American. John T. Shuften founded the Colored American in October of 1865 with the assistance of African Methodist Episcopal Church missionary James D. Lynch. Shuften was the editorial voice of the weekly newspaper advocated for the rights recently-freed African Americans. In January 1866, the newly formed Georgia Equal Rights Association purchased the publication to serve as its new organ. The organization changed the title to the Loyal Georgian and John Emory Bryant, a former Freedmen’s Bureau agent, became editor of the newspaper. Despite coming from the same printing press and subscriber list as the Colored American, the Loyal Georgian restarted volume and issue numbering with its inaugural issue on January 20, 1866. The paper reported local and national news, but also focused heavily on matters concerning African Americans and unabashedly promoted the Republican Party. Much like other Republican sheets in the state, the Loyal Georgian relied on federal patronage in the form of military notices to financially sustain itself. Bryant acquired state patronage in March of 1867 when Edward McPherson, a Republican representative in Georgia, appointed the Loyal Georgian and the Savannah Republican to publish laws. With state and federal support, Bryant was able to establish a daily edition titled the Daily Loyal Georgian which he printed alongside the Weekly Loyal Georgian. The paper continued to struggle to acquire advertisers, however and faced closure until Rufus Bullock and fellow Augusta Republicans formed the Georgia Print Company and purchased the Loyal Georgian. On August 6, 1868, Bryant’s paper was dealt a blow when now Governor Bullock appointed Samuel Bard of the Daily New Era to the post of State Printer. The Loyal Georgian was one of the three Republican sheets to cease publication by the end of 1868 due to the loss of patronage, leaving only two Republican papers in Georgia. Bryant establish the Georgia Republican in July 1869, but he considered this paper to be separate publication from the Loyal Georgian.

The Macon Sentinel began in 1899 and was the official organ of the Georgia Colored Industrial Orphans' Home.

First published on February 21, 1899, the Progressive Era is the third-oldest African American-owned newspaper published in Athens, Georgia. Unlike its predecessors, the Athens Blade and Athens Clipper, the Progressive Era was owned by a stock company, the Era Publishing Company, which was located on Reese Street. Athens physician William H. Harris served as the paper’s editor-in-chief with W. Decker Johnson, an African Methodist Episcopal (A. M. E.) Church bishop, also serving in an editorial capacity. The Progressive Era circulated semi-monthly at a subscription rate of fifty cents, but that increased to a dollar by 1904. In 1914, Monroe B. 'Pink' Morton, one of Athens’ most prominent African American businessmen and owner of the Morton Building, purchased a majority stake in the Progressive Era. The paper appears to be out of print by 1919. Despite almost 20 years of circulation and ownership by Athens’ leading African American businessmen, writers, and thinkers, only a single issue of the Progressive Era is known to have survived to the present day.

The most successful African American newspaper in Georgia in the nineteenth century.