Building the Black Press explores the publishing plants, corporate offices, and production spaces used by Black periodicals and their contributors from the nineteenth century to the present day.

This project posits that Black press buildings matter - as sites of historic protest and identity formation, as symbols of Black pride and business success, and as windows into the fluid and often fraught relationship between race, space, and media in the modern American city.

The term "Black Press" is utilized here in a broad sense - centered on weekly Black "legacy" newspapers, but also including Black consumer magazines, alternative, radical or dissident Black periodicals, and born-digital publications. For more on Black Press definitions and history check out the Reading List.

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Building the Black Press is curated by Dr. E. James West. It was formed as part of a Leverhulme Trust fellowship focusing on the Black press and the built environment in Chicago.

​This site expands West's research beyond Chicago to explore the building history of the Black press across the United States. It includes photo-essays, interactive maps, walking tours, and other resources.

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