Freedom’s Journal was the first African American–owned and operated newspaper in the United States, founded in 1827 in New York City by Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm. Established in response to the exclusion and misrepresentation of Black Americans in the mainstream press, the newspaper served as a critical platform for African American voices. Freedom’s Journal addressed issues including the abolition of slavery, civil rights, education, religion, and international developments affecting people of African descent. Guided by its motto, “We wish to plead our own cause,” the publication asserted the intellectual, moral, and political agency of Black Americans and laid the foundation for the Black press tradition in the United States.
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