Iowa Bystander Explained

Iowa Bystander
Type:Weekly newspaper
Format:Broadsheet
Foundation:June 8, 1894
Ceased Publication:2015
Publisher:IPJ Media, L.L.C.
Editor:Jonathan R. Narcisse (deceased in 2018)
Headquarters:P.O. Box 98, Des Moines, Iowa 50301 United States
Website:http://iowabystander.com

The Iowa Bystander was an Iowa newspaper serving African Americans. It was founded in Des Moines on June 15, 1894,[1] by I. E. Williamson, Billy Colson, and Jack Logan, and it is considered to be the oldest Black newspaper west of the Mississippi.[2] [3] The paper was first called Iowa State Bystander; the term "bystander" given by its editor, Charles Ruff, after a syndicated column "The Bystander's Notes" written by Albion W. Tourgée, a civil rights advocate who wrote for The Daily Inter Ocean. The name was changed to Bystander in 1916 by owner John L. Thompson, who published the paper from 1896-1922. Thompson traveled around the state seeking new subscribers, raising the circulation to 2,000 copies, and changed the paper to a 6-column 8-page layout.

In 1922, Thompson sold the newspaper to Lawrence Jones who, within 2 years, sold the paper to World War I veteran and founder of the National Bar Association, James B. Morris for $1,700. Morris changed the name of the paper to Iowa Bystander. Morris and the paper developed close ties with the NAACP and fought the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Iowa.[4]

The Iowa Bystander was one of 20 papers represented at the first meeting of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, formed in 1940 by John H. Sengstacke, to support newspapers serving Black communities.[5] Also that year, it was identified by Editor and Publisher as one of Iowa's four "leading Negro publications," along with the Tri City Observer (Davenport), the Iowa Observer (Des Moines), and the Sioux City Enterprise.[6]

Notable contributors and editors

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Iowa Bystander. July 6, 2018. Library of Congress Chronicling America.
  2. La Brie III. Henry G.. Spring 1974. James B. Morris Sr. and the Iowa Bystander. The Annals of Iowa. 42. 4. 314–322. 10.17077/0003-4827.11203. free.
  3. News: The month is over, but Iowa black history still needs its storytellers. Des Moines Register. 2018-07-06. en.
  4. Web site: Iowa Public Television. Iowa Public Television. Robert Morris. The Iowa Bystander. Iowa Pathways. 2016-08-17.
  5. News: NNPA History. 2013-06-13. NNPA. 2018-07-06. en-US.
  6. Web site: Editor and Publisher 1971-05-15: Vol 104 Iss 20 . 15 May 1971 . Duncan McIntosh .
  7. Web site: Eleanora E(laine) Tate. link.galegroup.com. en. 2018-07-06.
  8. News: 3 Mar 2018, A6 - The Des Moines Register at Newspapers.com. Newspapers.com. 2018-07-07. en.
  9. News: The Iowa Bystander. 2016-07-25. IPTV. 2018-07-06. en.
  10. News: Iowa Press Woman Wins Writing Prize. June 21, 1951. Atlanta Daily World. .