''The Forum'' was an
African-American owned newspaper founded by
John Henry Ryan
John Henry Ryan (1865 - 1943) was a businessman, newspaperman, and state legislator in the U.S. state of Washington. He lived in Tacoma, Washington. He was a member of the NAACP. He was elected as a member of three different political parties.
He ...
and
Ella Ryan and published by the Graham–Hickman Company weekly from 1903 to 1918 covering the
Tacoma area of the U.S. state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
.
It was founded on July 3, 1903 and ceased publication on December 28, 1918.
While the second page of the paper contained black society news, the paper covered mostly local politics and had mainly white readers and advertisers. ''The Forum'' published occasional reprinted pieces from other publications with black interests.
[Mumford, Esther, (1985). ''Black Heritage Survey of Washington State]
(PDF)
' Retrieved 2020-11-17 In 1906, Ella became sole publisher and editor. John was still listed on the masthead as editor, although he pursued a political career.
[Kershner, Kate (2011). ''Ryan, John Henry and Ella.'' Essay 9823, Historylink.org. https://www.historylink.org/File/9823]
History
John Henry Ryan and Ella Ryan were African American business owners. They owned The Forum and were the editors. The Forum was the first African American owned weekly newspaper.
In 1903, ''The Forum'' merged with the ''
Tacoma Sun'', a
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 ...
that had been publishing for 12 years.
In 1906, Ella Ryan became sole publisher and editor. John Henry Ryan was still listed on the masthead as editor, although he pursued a political career.
John would go on to be the first African American elected to the Washington state senate.
See also
*
List of African-American newspapers in Washington (state)
This is a list of African-American newspapers that have been published in the state of Washington (state), Washington. It includes both current and historical newspapers. The first such newspaper in Washington was the ''Seattle Standard'', est ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forum (Tacoma)
Mass media in Tacoma, Washington
African-American newspapers