The Afro-American was a weekly Black newspaper which began publication in Baltimore in 1892. At its peak during the mid-twentieth century, the newspaper had two main editions - published twice weekly out of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. - and a host of regional editions specific to cities such as Philadelphia, Richmond and Newark.
The paper's founder, John Henry Murphy, Sr., was a former slave who, like many nineteenth century Black publishers, gained his formative experience with the printing press through connections to the Black church. In 1892 Murphy merged his own Sunday School Helper with two other publications - the Ledger (published by George Bragg of St. James Episcopal Church) and the Afro-American (directed by the Revered William Alexander of the Sharon Baptist Church). The unified paper took its name from the latter two publications, initially circulating as the Afro-American Ledger before later becoming the Afro-American.
On a local level, the Afro-American challenged Baltimore's white political establishment to address segregation and racial discrimination, and to improve Black representation in the city's police force and within its political system. More broadly, the paper advocated for civil rights across the country, often collaborating with organizations such as National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to draw attend to salient causes.
On a local level, the Afro-American challenged Baltimore's white political establishment to address segregation and racial discrimination, and to improve Black representation in the city's police force and within its political system. More broadly, the paper advocated for civil rights across the country, often collaborating with organizations such as National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to draw attend to salient causes.
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The paper was originally published out of 1605 McElderry Street, a location which today has been swallowed by the John Hopkins University campus. In 1898 the paper moved to an address on Courtland Street between Saratoga and Lexington Streets. By the end of the century it had moved again - to a location at 307 St. Paul Street which the paper described as "more favorable and inviting than before."
The address was close to a row of houses on the 300 block of Saint Paul Place erected following the War of 1812, which represented some of the oldest buildings in the city. By the 1890s these houses had become home to one of the city's most important Black civic institutions - St. Francis Xavier's Church, the first Catholic Church for African Americans in the country. Other important Black institutions located in the neighborhood included Bethel Church, the Baltimore Manual Training School, and Bowie State University. |
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In addition to its central offices on Saint Paul Street, the Afro-American maintained an "Up Town" office at 1336 North Carey Street, around two miles north-west of its main headquarters.
During World War I urban redevelopment efforts in downtown Baltimore led to a significance portion of St. Paul Street being scheduled for demolition. In a June 23, 1917 editorial, the Afro-American bemoaned the city's efforts to raze large sections of the neighborhood which had played host to a vibrant middle-class Black community during the late nineteenth-century.
"The plan of the city to clear the east side of St. Paul street out to Centre and thence back along the west side of St. Paul street, carries with it the destruction of properties well known to Baltimoreans. The 500 block of St. Paul street was a sort of aristocratic neighborhood for colored people over a quarter of a century ago...With a remodeled front, the Afro-American Building."
By the end of the war, the Afro-American's production plant had relocated to 628 North Eutaw Street, in a three-story, block-long building. Despite the inconvenience of multiple relocations, Murphy had continued to build the newspaper from a locally circulating church organ into a nationally read general interest Black newspaper which, by his death in 1922, had become the most widely circulated Black periodical along the Eastern seaboard.
Prior to his passing Murphy had instructed his five sons on the intricacies of the Black press, and they continued to manage the paper's development, lead by Carl Murphy, who became the Afro-American's editor-publisher, and Arnett Murphy, who became its advertising director. Under Carl's leadership the paper expanded further, gradually buying up the entire block of North Eutaw street around its main publishing plant. By 1943, the company owned all seven structures and was running a circulation of 225,000 papers per week.
The Afro-American's expansion also led to the development of multiple regional editions in cities with prominent Black enclaves across the country. These included the Philadelphia Afro-American, published at 704 South Broad Street, the New Jersey Afro-American produced out of 128 West Street, and Richmond Afro-American, published at 504 North Third Street. Outside of Baltimore, the paper's most significant local edition was the Washington Afro-American, which was housed at 1800 11th Street in North West Washington, D.C.
The newspaper was based at this address from 1937 until the late 1970s, when it relocated to a new home a few blocks southwest at 1612 14th Street, NW. Following the Afro-American's departure from 1800 11th Street, the building was converted into offices by Howard University-educated architect Albert Cassell.
As for 1612 14th Street, the Italianate-style building, built in 1902, was designated a contributing property to the Fourteenth Street Historic District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. More recently, the Washington Afro-American has found a home at 1917 Benning Road in the Carter/Langston district of northeast D.C.
As for 1612 14th Street, the Italianate-style building, built in 1902, was designated a contributing property to the Fourteenth Street Historic District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. More recently, the Washington Afro-American has found a home at 1917 Benning Road in the Carter/Langston district of northeast D.C.
In 2017 the Afro-American's headquarters at 2519 North Charles Street was sold to the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, a Baltimore-based charitable enterprise founded by Robert Deutsch, a former nuclear physicist and retired business owner. The foundation's mission statement offers a commitment to investing "in innovative people, projects and ideas that improve the quality of live in Baltimore and beyond."
The Afro-American, an independent weekly newspaper and one of the longest running black newspapers in the country, was founded in 1892 by John H. Murphy, Sr. At first it was a local newspaper for Baltimore, but soon it expanded with Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Newark, and Richmond editions. At its peak, the newspaper published in 13 different cities. The Washington Afro-American began publication in 1932, operating from a series of offices on U Street, NW.
The Afro-American's motto was "A Champion of Civic Welfare and the Square Deal." The Afro stood for colored police officers, equal salaries for teachers regardless of race and gender, the organization of labor unions, and state and federal support of farmers. The Afro-American was an unabashed "race" paper — committed, as were other institutions, to full justice for African Americans. At the same time, the newspaper wrote for the masses of black readers, providing both news and entertainment.
From 1937 until the late 1970s, its offices were at 1800 11th Street, NW. Architect Albert Cassell designed the conversion of that building, formerly residential, into offices.
The newspaper continues to be controlled by the Murphy family, now in its fourth generation. The Afro's current offices are at 1917 Benning Road, NE.