Top of page

Notice
Monday, February 16, 2026: For the President's Day holiday, The Library will open under normal operating hours.
Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper The Voice (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1946-195?

View All Front Pages

About The Voice (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1946-195?

The Voice was a weekly African American newspaper published in Lincoln, Nebraska, from October 11, 1946 through May 14, 1953 at an annual subscription rate of $2.00. It was “dedicated to the promotion of the culture, social and spiritual life of a great people.” Melvin L. Shakespeare, a local pastor, was the publisher and owner. Two “special writers” were named in the masthead—Rev. Trago T. McWilliams, Sr., and Joseph Casmer.

In the first issue, Rev. McWilliams wrote a moving statement about the Voice and its mission. He described the Voice as a “determined, indomitable voice for … a united effort on the part of the Negro citizenry of this great educational and cultural center to raise sights to higher goals.” The goals cited included greater employment opportunities, tolerance, and advanced educational goals. Also mentioned were “to denounce unscrupulous politicians” and “to champion … the underprivileged.” The paper frequently reported on the National Urban League and the NAACP. In accordance with its commitment to education, the Voice sponsored fundraisers to provide a scholarship for a high school student to attend a university or a technical school in order to learn a trade.

The Voice was also devoted to community activities in Lincoln, Hastings, and other Nebraska towns. Several columns were contributed by community members, such as “Social Hints,” and “Churches: Go to the Church of Your Choice — but Go!” These columns help offer a snapshot of post-WWII life of African Americans in Nebraska.

Provided By: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Voice (Lincoln, Nebraska) 1946-195?

Dates of Publication

  • 1946-195?

Created / Published

  • Lincoln, Nebraska : Melvin L. Shakespeare, 1946-

Headings

  • -  African Americans--Nebraska--Lincoln--Newspapers
  • -  African American newspapers--Nebraska--Lincoln
  • -  Lincoln (Neb.)--Newspapers
  • -  African American newspapers
  • -  African Americans
  • -  Nebraska--Lincoln
  • -  United States--Nebraska--Lancaster--Lincoln

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began with Volume 1, Number 1 (October 11, 1946).
  • -  "Dedicated to the promotion of the cultural, social and spiritual life of a great people."
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on Volume 1, Number 1 (October 11, 1946); title from masthead.

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2019270505

OCLC Number

  • 1088505830

ISSN Number

  • 2768-5853

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

The NEH awardee responsible for producing each digital object is presented in the Chronicling America page display, below the page image – e.g. Image produced by the Library of Congress. For more information on current NDNP awardees, see https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/listawardees.html.

For more information on Library of Congress policies and disclaimers regarding rights and reproductions, see https://www.loc.gov/homepage/legal.html

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Voice Lincoln, Nebraska -195?. (Lincoln, NE), Jan. 1 1946. https://www.loc.gov/item/2019270505/.

APA citation style:

(1946, January 1) The Voice Lincoln, Nebraska -195?. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2019270505/.

MLA citation style:

The Voice Lincoln, Nebraska -195?. (Lincoln, NE) 1 Jan. 1946. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/2019270505/.