LibGuides: AFR 387: Performing Blackness / Thompson: Newspapers and Magazines

Newspaper Databases

African American Communities (AAC) This link opens in a new window
1869 - 1985. Unlimited
Presents multiple aspects of the African American community through personal diaries and scrapbooks, pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals, correspondence, official records and in-depth oral histories.
African American Historical Serials Collection This link opens in a new window
1829 - 1922. Unlimited users.
The African American Historical Serials Collection, developed in conjunction with American Theological Library Association (ATLA) features more than 170 unique periodical titles related to the history of African American life and culture, with extensive coverage of religious organizations, churches, and institutions. Material was published between 1829 and 1922. See here for a full title list.
African American Newspapers, Series 1 This link opens in a new window
1827 - 1998. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly (until completed). When completed, will provide online access to approximately 270 African American U.S. newspapers. Features papers from more than 35 states. The newspapers were scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
African American Newspapers, Series 2 This link opens in a new window
1827 - 1998. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly (until completed). When completed, will provide online access to approximately 270 African American U.S. newspapers. Features papers from more than 35 states. The newspapers were scanned from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society and the Library of Congress.
African American Newspapers in the South, 1870-1926 This link opens in a new window
1870-1926. Unlimited users.
Documents the African American press in the South from Reconstruction through the Jim Crow period. Written by African Americans for African Americans, the first-hand reporting, editorials, and features kept readers abreast of current domestic and international events, often focusing on racial issues.
- The Advocate, 1907 – 1912
- Athens Republique, 1921 – 1926
- The Banner-Enterprise, 1883 – 1884
- The Bee, 1882 – 1884
- The Black Dispatch, 1917 – 1922
- The Educator, 1874 – 1875
- The Langston City Herald, 1892 – 1900
- The Louisianian, 1870 – 1871
- The Muskogee Cimeter, 1904 – 1920
- The Nashville Globe, 1907 – 1918
- The National Forum, 1910
- Pioneer Press, 1911 – 1917
- The Republican, 1873 – 1875
- Semi-Weekly Louisianian, 1871 – 1872
- The Tulsa Star, 1913 –1921
- Western World, 1903 – 1904
African American Periodicals This link opens in a new window
1825 - 1995. Unlimited users.
African American Periodicals, 1825-1995, features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans. Published in 26 states, the publications include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations bulletins, annual reports and other genres.

Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
1880s - 2000. Unlimited users.
An archival research resource containing the essential primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to 2000. The core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are all included, together with film fan magazines and music press titles. Magazines have been scanned cover-to-cover in high-resolution color, with granular indexing of all articles, covers, ads and reviews.
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
1985 - present. Unlimited users.
Updated monthly. Provides full-text coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press in America (some international coverage). Includes more than 400,000 full-text articles from 200 publications.
Houston Chronicle (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1901-1985. Additional coverage may be available for 1996-2017. Unlimited.
Research Houston history through the Houston Chronicle Historical Collection. Study trends, issues, events, advertisements, companies and more through historical and current full newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. Available remotely 24/7 on any device. Includes full newspaper pages.
Houston Post (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1886–1995. Unlimited.
Research Houston history through the Houston Post Historical Collection with coverage from 1886 – 1995. Primary source information to examine events, issues and daily life in the context of the historical period, featuring archived full newspaper pages. Available remotely 24/7 on any device. Includes full newspaper pages.
Life Magazine Archive, 1936-2000 This link opens in a new window
1936-2000. Unlimited users.
Searchable digital archive of Life Magazine covering national and international events, documentaries, popular culture, and business from November 1936 through December 2000.
Los Angeles Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1881 - 1996. Unlimited users.
Updated annually. Provides comprehensive coverage for Southern California's largest daily newspaper. Includes all the articles published since the first issue of the paper in 1881. Provides full text and full image articles with digital reproductions of every page, every article and every issue in PDF format. In addition to news stories, includes editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.
Newsweek Archive, 1933-2012 This link opens in a new window
1933-2012. Unlimited users.
An archive of Newsweek magazine, one of the premier US weeklies of the 20th -21st centuries. With coverage from 1933 through 2012, it comprises 80 years of news reporting and commentary, charting the key US and global events during this period. Its diverse content beyond news and politics (in areas including business, science/technology, arts, travel, and family life) is such that there is valuable material for researchers in many fields, from history and political science through to economics, women's studies, and media history.
New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1851 - 2018. Unlimited users.
Updated annually. Includes all the articles published since the first issue of the paper in 1851. Provides full text and full image articles with digital reproductions of every page, every article and every issue in PDF format. In addition to news stories, includes editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.
More recent years are also available in other full text resources.
Texas Newspaper Archive This link opens in a new window
1838 - 2019. Unlimited users. *Available on campus only*
Digitized copies and content of Texas newspapers, including The Austin Daily Texan (1900-2019), Galveston Daily News (1865-2017), San Antonio Express (1865-1977), San Antonio Light (1883-1977) and hundreds of other Texas newspapers.
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
1892 - present. Unlimited users.
The Vogue Archive contains the entire run of Vogue magazine (US edition), from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included, with rich indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer and brand names. The Vogue Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day.
The Vogue Archive also features specialist indexing of full-page images from photo features. This has been newly created by Condé Nast, with expert indexers using controlled lists to apply keywords to each separate image within a document. There are separate designated fields for Fashion Item (e.g. kimono, Breton jacket, scoop neckline), Person Pictured, Company/brand, Designer Name and Material (e.g. chiffon, wool).
Women's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Late 1800s - 2005. Unlimited users.
An archival research resource comprising the full backfiles of leading women’s interest consumer magazines. Titles are scanned from cover to cover in high-resolution color and feature detailed article-level indexing. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period. Among the research fields served by this material are gender studies, social history, economics/marketing, media, fashion, politics, and popular culture.

Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
1880s - 2000. Unlimited users.
An archival research resource containing the essential primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to 2000. The core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are all included, together with film fan magazines and music press titles. Magazines have been scanned cover-to-cover in high-resolution color, with granular indexing of all articles, covers, ads and reviews.
Los Angeles Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1881 - 1996. Unlimited users.
Updated annually. Provides comprehensive coverage for Southern California's largest daily newspaper. Includes all the articles published since the first issue of the paper in 1881. Provides full text and full image articles with digital reproductions of every page, every article and every issue in PDF format. In addition to news stories, includes editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.
New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1851 - 2018. Unlimited users.
Updated annually. Includes all the articles published since the first issue of the paper in 1851. Provides full text and full image articles with digital reproductions of every page, every article and every issue in PDF format. In addition to news stories, includes editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.
More recent years are also available in other full text resources.
New York Times (Recent) This link opens in a new window
2008 - 3 months ago. Unlimited users.
Full-page images of The New York Times. Users can search PDF images of every part of every page, including full-text news articles, photos, advertisements, classified ads, obituaries, cartoons, and more, with keyword highlighting. Coverage begins in 2008 and goes up through the most recent issue, with a 90-day embargo.
More recent years are also available in other full text resources.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Updated continually. Nexis Uni™ features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis®—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an interface that offers discovery across all content types, personalization features such as Alerts and saved searches and a collaborative workspace with shared folders and annotated documents.
Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
1890 - 1982. 4 users.
Contains comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States and reflects the history of 20th century America. Covers more than 375 titles.
Times Literary Supplement This link opens in a new window
2010 - present. Unlimited users.
An essential companion for studying and researching literary activity and critical opinion makers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since 1902, the TLS has scrutinized, applauded and dissected the work of leading writers and thinkers, offering comprehensive coverage of the most important publications, in every subject, in several languages, as well as reviewing current theatre, cinema, music, and exhibitions.
Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
1902 - 2014. Unlimited users.
The complete online fully-searchable edition of the Times Literary Supplement from the first edition in 1902 to 2014. This is the essential companion for studying and researching literary activity and critical opinion makers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since 1902, the TLS has scrutinized, applauded and dissected the work of leading writers and thinkers, offering comprehensive coverage of the most important publications, in every subject, in several languages, as well as reviewing current theatre, cinema, music, and exhibitions.

Digitized Publications

Black Enterprise
Online version of Black Enterprise digitized by Google. African American business publication since 1970.
Black World/Negro Digest (1961-1976)
Founded in 1943, Negro Digest (later “Black World”) was the publication that launched Johnson Publishing. During the most turbulent years of the civil rights movement, Negro Digest/Black World served as a critical vehicle for political thought for supporters of the movement.
Colored American Magazine
From 1900 to 1909, during a period of intensifying racial violence and Black disfranchisement in the United States, the Colored American Magazine served a vital role in promoting the development of African American literature, protesting injustice, and contesting dominant representations of African American culture and history.
Commerorator Newspaper (1991-2012)
Newspaper printed in South Berkeley from 1990-2013 by the Commemoration Committee for the Black Panther Party.
Crisis Magazine (1910-2011)
The Crisis, founded by W.E.B. Du Bois as the official publication of the NAACP, is a journal of civil rights, history, politics, and culture and seeks to educate and challenge its readers about issues that continue to plague African Americans and other communities of color.
Ebony (1959-2008)
Founded in 1945 by John H. Johnson, it still maintains the highest global circulation of any African American-focused magazine.
Ebony Jr. (1973-1985)
Created by the publishers of Ebony. During its years of publishing it was the largest ever children-focused publication for African Americans.
Essence (1970-2005)
Jet Magazine (1951-2005)
Weekly source of African American political and entertainment news.

Historical Black Newspapers

A select few of historical African-American newspapers in our collection.

Atlanta Daily World (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1931-2010. Unlimited users.
Full page and article images of Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010) and Atlanta World (1931-1932), with searchable full text. Users can study the progression of issues over time by browsing issues of this historic Southern Black community newspaper, including news articles, photos, advertisements, classified ads, obituaries, editorials, cartoons, and more.
Chicago Defender (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1910 - 2010. Unlimited users.
Includes the full image of articles published in the Chicago Defender from 1910 to 2010. You can browse individual issues by clicking Publications at the top of the screen, or search by keyword(s), author(s), article title, date ranges, and more. Includes illustrations and advertisements. The Chicago Defender was the most influential African-American newspaper of the 20th century. With the majority of its readership outside the Chicago region, it served as the de facto national black newspaper in the U.S. The Defender covered events in the South, such as lynchings, that Southern black newspapers could not safely report. The paper was a major influence for the Great Migration of African Americans to the North in the early 20th century. Later issues of the Chicago Defender are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.
New York Amsterdam News (Historical) This link opens in a new window
1922 - 2010. Unlimited Users.
Full page and article images of various editions of the New York Amsterdam News newspaper, with combined coverage from 1922 to 2010. The newspaper offers primary source material relevant to the study of American history and African-American culture, history, politics, and the arts. Coverage includes news stories, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements. Later issues of the New York Amsterdam News are in the Ethnic NewsWatch database.