Arkansas Freeman
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The Arkansas Freeman was the first African American newspaper in Arkansas. It was founded in 1869 and went defunct in 1870. The paper was opposed to the Radical Republican rule of Arkansas, and opposed the reality that black Arkansans mostly supported them. While its editor intended to reopen the paper in 1871, the paper was never published again.
In June 1869, several prominent black men in Arkansas met to consider establishing the first black newspaper in the state.[1] They announced a formal dinner and meeting for the latter half of the month, and some of the white press—including the Arkansas Gazette—found it important.[1] The announcement was held in the wake of the Civil War and during the Reconstruction era; the Gazette reported that the foundation of a black press was nearly as important as emancipation for the establishment of black civic life.[1] However, they warned that Radical Republicans—some of the earliest supporters of a black newspaper bid—did not care about black Arkansans, and they desired a newspaper that was "independent and patriotic".[1] The Gazette wrote to Arkansas Democrats that a black newspaper was politically advantageous for them, while the Morning Republican supported its establishment.[2]
In July, Tabbs Gross—the planned editor of the paper who was a reverend,[3] former slave,[4] and recent transplant to Arkansas[5]—began distributing material to other newspapers in the state, explaining his reasons for establishing a newspaper, and what its aims were.[6] Gross advocated for what he called "Republican Freedom": The right to vote without regard to race, the right to practice private religion, the ability to self-advocate, and the establishment of separate schools and churches for black people.[7] This Republican Freedom was similar to what conservative Democrats desired, and Radical Republicans withdrew much of their support for the paper's establishment as a result.[A][9] Many members of Arkansas's black community also withdrew their support, but some—including a community in Little Rock—continued to support Gross.[8] One group of black Republicans in Little Rock said Gross had become "an imposter and an enemy to his race".[10]