Front Page America, "As Above, So Below"

Front Page America

“As Above, So Below”

 

   Viewing history through the lens of newspapers can be tricky, especially when it comes to reading about historical events and issues that pertain to Black people. The “Black Press” and the so called, “Mainstream Press” can have seriously divergent views.

 

   Another aspect of using historical newspapers to view history, it can provide a gauge to see what changes, if any have occurred over time. It is the front pages of newspapers, above the fold and below it that set the tone, directing the reader to what the publisher considers, “news.” 

   Through the years, I have collected literally thousands of copies (digital) of newspapers from across the country that contain articles pertinent to my research on the history of Indian Territory and the state of Oklahoma; most of the articles that interest me have something to do with the formerly enslaved people of the Five Slave Holding Tribes, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek/Muscogee and Seminole.

   The front page is a window into the past but like most of history, you should take what you read with a grain of salt. Over one-hundred-years ago, the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma was destroyed. One of the cities “Black” owned papers was provided commentary on the incident about a month later July 21, 1921.

   Today, the descendants of the survivors are still fighting and recovering from that tragic day. Clearly, the “Spirit of Tulsa Riot Victims Unbroken.” These are some of the articles from the front page of “The Black Dispatch,” “The Largest Circulated Negro Journal in Oklahoma.”

Above the Fold

   This is a nice positive article about the resilience of the citizens living in and business owners of the Greenwood District of Tulsa. It would have been insightful had the writer printed the names of the survivors he/she encountered but that’s just me.

 

   However, let’s not forget the atmosphere that existed in Oklahoma that may have contributed to making the “Tulsa Riot” possible, some might say, inevitable?

Below the Fold

   Remember, this is a “Black” owned paper, their view of current events reflects the publisher and the community they serve. The 1920’s does get romanticized in movies and books, but the reality of those years included a country coming out of a World War, Anti-Blackness was still present and much of the land received by the formerly enslaved people of Indian Territory was being lost to land foreclosures for failure to pay taxes or bank loans. That’s another story!