The Christian Recorder

The Christian Recorder
The Christian Recorder, August 2020
TypeMonthly newspaper
Owner(s)African Methodist Episcopal Church
PublisherRoderick D. Belin
EditorJohn Thomas III
FoundedJuly 1,1852; 172 years ago (July 1,1852)
Headquarters1722 Scovel Street
Nashville, TN 37208
ISSN1050-6039
OCLC number14096028
Websitewww.thechristianrecorder.com

The Christian Recorder is the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and is the oldest continuously published African-American newspaper in the United States.[1] It has been called "arguably the most powerful black periodical of the nineteenth century," a time when there were few sources for news and information about Black communities.[2][3]

The Christian Recorder, March 1894

The Recorder covered secular as well as religious news, and reported news of the black regiments serving in the Civil War. It advocated support for Union troops.[3][4] It was also known for having an Information Wanted section, where Black families who had been forcibly separated in the slave trade could seek news about their missing loved ones.[5][6] The paper's coverage included birth, marriage, and death notices.

It also featured music, poetry, and reader stories, and was "a major source of literature by and for African-Americans" during this time period. [7] The paper published Julia C. Collins' novel as 31 serialized chapters in 1865, as well as many of her essays.[3] It also printed works by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and James W. C. Pennington.[8][2]

  1. ^ "History". The Christian Recorder. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  2. ^ a b Cohen, Lara Langer (Fall 2016). "Review: Eric Gardner. 'Black Print Unbound: The Christian Recorder, African American Literature, and Periodical Culture.'". African American Review. 49 (3): 286–289. doi:10.1353/afa.2016.0042. S2CID 163416901. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Kachun, Mitch (Winter 2006). "Interrogating the Silences: Julia C. Collins, 19th-Century Black Readers and Writers, and the 'Christian Recorder.'". African American Review. 40 (4): 649–659. JSTOR 40033744. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  4. ^ "The Christian Recorder". Accessible Archives Inc. 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  5. ^ "The Christian Recorder". Internet Archive. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  6. ^ "'Last Seen': Digitizing Ads from Former Slaves in Search of Loved Ones | Villanova University". www1.villanova.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
  7. ^ "Julia C. Collins". Recovering 19th-Century American Women Writers. 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  8. ^ Collins, Julia (2020-06-10). "The curse of caste, or, The slave bride". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2020-12-25.