Reading Into The “Chicago Defender”
Launched in 1905 by lawyer and media innovator Robert Sengstacke Abbott, the Chicago Defender emerged as the most prolific black newspaper in the early to the mid-20th century. This four-page weekly, which began in a small Chicago area kitchen apartment, was fueled by a 25 cent initial investment and a press run of a mere 300 copies.
During its early genesis, each issue featured Chicago area news items along with an assortment of clippings from other newspapers. Over time the Defender built a major presence among black communities across the nation. By 1929, upwards of 250,000 copies were being sold each week.
With Abbott at the helm, the Defender pursued a sensationalist strategy to ignite and build it’s national circulation. News coverage spanned a broad range of prevailing themes and issues tied to national black consciousness.
This iconic black newspaper and historical legacy are chronicled in a book called The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America. In this voluminous 672 page read, author Ethan Michaeli explores how Defender founder Robert Abbott was driven to launch the paper after hearing speeches by famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass and fiery journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.
The Defender’s powerful news coverage, according to Michaeli, delivered a prominent voice to black Americans who were often muted amid the racist stain of Jim Crow. It also played a prominent role in fueling the Great Migration, igniting the migratory ambitions of black families to parts throughout America.
During the First World War, the Defender became a strong champion of equal treatment for black soldiers. It also published comparative articles examining the lives of blacks in the urban North and rural South, with a nod to Chicago’s growing reputation as a city of untold opportunity.
A Southern migrant himself, Abbott had first-hand experiences with the prevailing segregationist tenor of the times. As a member of the Republican Party, he supported the Grand Old Party movement championed by Abraham Lincoln.
Politically adroit and undaunted by his encounters with bigoted white leaders, Abbott demonstrated a propensity for toppling barriers hindering blacks, often attacking important civil rights issues like housing discrimination and workforce employment with gusto.
Tied to his rising stature as a media icon and advocate for black ascendancy, his financial fortune began to soar, eventually leading him to millionaire status.
In 1918, Abbott married Helen Thornton Morrison, who was 30 years his elder and could easily pass for being a white person. As a couple, their wealth and status afforded them opportunities that were uncommon for blacks at the time, including regular opportunities to attend Chicago Opera events.
Abbott later divorced and remarried. In 1939, having been struck by an illness, he relinquished control of the Defender, turning the reins over to his nephew John Sengstacke. As described in this excerpt from the book:
“Abbott died in 1940 and was succeeded by his nephew John H. Sengstacke, who took The Defender to even greater heights during his five decades in command. During World War II, Sengstacke staffed the newspaper with an international, interracial roster of writers that included poet Langston Hughes and public intellectual W. E. B. Du Bois, turning it into a journalistic champion of universal human rights.”
A New Era
Sengstacke, who was christened as the Chicago Defender’s new editor and publisher was born in Savannah Georgia in 1912. He was Abbott’s assistant before ascending to the role of vice-president and then general manager of the Robert S. Abbott Publishing Company.
During his leadership helm, Sengstacke assembled a conglomerate of Black newspapers throughout the U.S. bringing collaboration, editorial prowess, and economies of scale to the Black media movement. Encompassing the likes of the Michigan Chronicle, LouisvilleDefender, Columbus News, St. Louis News, Toledo Press, and Cincinnati News, it became the largest black-owned newspaper chain in U.S. history.
Fueled by the Defender’s trailblazing role, this collective of papers played a pivotal role in advancing freedom and liberty for scores of Black Americans. Among other achievements, the Defender championed for the fair and equal treatment of black servicemen fighting in World War II while advocating for the ranks of the armed services to be integrated.
The brave effort of the 24th Infantry Regiment and other Black military units were highlighted by the Defender and other Black newspapers as a source of pride and recognition. It’s here where the book explores the Defender’s efforts at regularly promoting the key contributions made by Black Americans in every major military conflict since the Revolutionary War.
Defender editorials exposed how Black soldiers were never afforded the same treatment as their counterparts as well as the segregated nature of military units, with Black soldiers often relegated to secondary or non-combat roles. This reporting on the plight of these soldiers was met with surprising resistance by the U.S. government which at one point threatened to indict Black publishers for sedition. In response, Sengstacke, leveraging his powerful role as publisher of the Defender intervened, negotiating a compromise with the Justice Department which protected the First Amendment rights of the Black press.
Another key milestone documented in the book was the Defender’s prominent role in integrating professional baseball. This was largely tied to the national attention associated with Jackie Robinson's color barrier-breaking move to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Sengstacke also encouraged President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to open the doors to skilled and management positions for Blacks in the United States Postal Service and other federally related positions.
The Defender is also credited with boosting community and economic development on Chicago's South Side where the storied media giant’s publishing offices were located for decades. Located in a richly historical Black area known as “Bronzeville,” the offices of the newspaper long sat at the epicenter of black churches, businesses, entertainment venues, and private residences dotting the area. As documented in the book:
“In the ’70s, The Defender lost circulation and influence, pinched on one side by a black power movement that saw the newspaper as too accommodating to the white establishment, and on the other by the large daily newspapers and television stations suddenly embracing integration, which to them meant siphoning off black journalists as well as black readers. Sengstacke maintained the symbolic power of The Defender as long as he lived, but after his death in 1997 the paper’s influence ebbed, a process that accelerated after it was sold in 2002.”
When Sengstacke died in 1997, The Defender’s national influence and circulation declined. In 2003 the newspaper was purchased by Real Times, a company with ties to one of Sengstacke’s relatives. Five years later it became a weekly publication. Today it exists in digital format only.
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