''The New Age'', later known as the ''Portland New Age'', was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

newspaper published in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

History

Adolphus D. Griffin, or A.D. Griffin, launched the

weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly new ...

in 1896. Griffin, served various occupational roles throughout his life, which included editor, publisher, politician, entrepreneur, and even custodian. He was known as a "political leader of the colored people of the Willamette Valley," Shortly after the New Age's initial launch, Griffin offered to circulate it to Portland's black residents for free. The city's black population, which numbered fewer than 800 on the paper's launch date, were highly literate in comparison to southern blacks of the time, and to Oregon's white laboring class. At the time, black people were legally prohibited from living in the state by a provision in the

Oregon Constitution The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.

. The ''New Age'', which included national news items in addition to local coverage, was intended for a black readership. However, the publication likely attracted some white audiences, as well. Griffin was a member of the

Oregon Press Association The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association is a trade association for all paid-circulation daily, weekly, and multi-weekly newspapers in the U.S. state of Oregon. It represents and promotes newspapers, and encourages excellence in reporting and ...

. Prior to launching the ''New Age'', Griffin had been editor of the '' Northwest Echo'' in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the ...

. He left Portland for unknown reasons in 1907, and the newspaper did not survive his departure. He died nine years later; at the time he was editor of the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

''Elevator''. The

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preserv ...

holds about 400 issues of the ''New Age'', and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

have issues on

microfilm Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...

References

External links

Online archive of ''The New Age''
{{authority control Newspapers published in Portland, Oregon Defunct African-American newspapers 1896 establishments in Oregon 1907 disestablishments in Oregon African-American history in Portland, Oregon Defunct newspapers published in Oregon

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links