The Baltimore Afro-American, a digitized newspaper recently added to the Library’s collection of Historical Newspapers from ProQuest, was founded in 1892. After the newspaper failed in 1896, one of its employees, John Henry Murphy, Sr., purchased the printing presses. From 1897-1922 the paper was under his control and it is still run by his descendants.
The newspaper first focused on the internal and external affairs of Baltimore’s black community, including education, politics, social uplift, the promotion of black business, and civil rights. As its circulation broadened along the Atlantic coast, it increasingly addressed these issues on the national stage.
The newspaper can be browsed by issue, searched separately, or searched along with other newspapers that make up the ProQuest database. PDFs of the articles can be saved or printed.