Black Newspapers’ Civil War Reflections

Booker T. Washington’s Influence Amidst The Clansman and The Birth of a Nation

Bibliographic Data

ID21637495
AuthorsFelecia Jones Ro (0000-0002-8747-5177, The Ohio State University, corresponding author), Maneesh Pandeya (0000-0002-4624-2414, Delaware State University)
Year2025
Volume36
Issue4
Pages363-379
Publication date2025-08-08
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHoward Journal of Communications (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1064-6175 • E-ISSN: 1096-4649
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10646175.2025.2525263
OpenAlexW4412166030
LanguageEN
References cited37

This study examines the extent to which Booker T. Washington influenced the way the newspapers that he owned reflected the memories of the Civil War at a time when the nation, as exemplified in the movie The Birth of a Nation, recasted it to justify the anti-Black racism of the early twentieth century. Washington, who was known for his accommodationist philosophy, suggested that Blacks were not prepared to assume the citizenship rights achieved after the war. Using qualitative textual analysis, this study explores how these newspapers represented the perspectives associated with the war, as well as the cultural influence of the movie. Findings show that the newspapers did not reflect Washington’s public perspective. Instead, they tended to reflect the “emancipationist” perspective of advocating for Black citizenship rights. The study also analyzes the cultural influence of The Birth of a Nation as newspapers reflected the emerging strategies toward achieving Black progress in the early years of the twentieth century

Media studies · Newspaper · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · American and British Literature Analysis · Gender Studies · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Race, History, and American Society

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