''The Elevator'' was a newspaper published in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States from 1869 to 1874, to express the perspective of the black community. A major focus of the articles were the
Fourth of July celebrations that were non-segregated as that was occasionally set aside on Independence day. The newspaper was first published under the slogan "Equality Before the Law" by
Philip Alexander Bell
Philip Alexander Bell (1808–1889) was a 19th-century American newspaper editor and abolitionist. Born in New York City, he was educated at the African Free School and became politically active at the 1832 Colored Convention. He began his news ...
.
Philip Alexander Bell
Born in New York City in 1808,
Philip Alexander Bell
Philip Alexander Bell (1808–1889) was a 19th-century American newspaper editor and abolitionist. Born in New York City, he was educated at the African Free School and became politically active at the 1832 Colored Convention. He began his news ...
was a journalist and abolitionist politician who was African American.
He first began working in newspapers in 1831 as the New York City agent for ''The Liberator,'' William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist paper.
In 1860, Bell moved to San Francisco to report on newfound opportunities for blacks there.
It was there in 1862 that Bell worked as an editor with Peter Anderson on the ''
Pacific Appeal'' before moving on to start his own paper after the pair disagreed on a direction to take the newspaper.
After the disagreement over the ''Pacific Appeal,'' Bell founded the ''Elevator'' in 1865.
Early publishings
The first issue of the ''Elevator'' was published on April 7th, 1865.
The Elevator's goal was to work towards black suffrage and citizenship as well as improve educational opportunities for black youth in the bay area.
Due to the fact that the majority of Californians were opposed to racial integration at the time Bell had to take a strategic approach to advocating for civil rights. He accomplished this by holding a more authoritative tone, avoiding using emotion. He also utilized the patriotism deeply rooted in the black community to win over the whites.
Popular journalist and essayist
Jennie Carter
Jennie Carter (c. 1830 – August 1881) was an American journalist and essayist who wrote for the California African-American newspaper '' The Elevator'' from her home in Nevada County, California during the Reconstruction Era. She used the pen ...
wrote for the ''Elevator'' under the pseudonyms Anna Trask and Semper Fidelis from her home in
Nevada City, California, covering racism, women's rights, education, travel and other issues.
Views
It was hostile to immigrants.
References
Further reading
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{{African American press
African-American newspapers
Newspapers published in the San Francisco Bay Area
Publications established in 1869
1869 establishments in California
Publications disestablished in 1874