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Newspaper The Plaindealer (Detroit, Mich.) 1883-1895 Plain dealer / Detroit plaindealer

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About The Plaindealer (Detroit, Mich.) 1883-1895

The Plaindealer was published weekly in Detroit, MI from 1883-94. Kyla L. Wright of the Detroit Free Press argues that that the Plaindealer was Detroit’s first successful African American newspaper and was dedicated to promoting civil rights and covering local and national news for the Detroit community (October 16, 2020). The newspaper was founded and edited by four Black men: William H. Anderson; William H. Stowers; and brothers Benjamin B. Pelham and Robert Pelham, Jr. Each of these editors arrived to the Plaindealer with an extensive background in journalism, having worked for newspapers like the Detroit Daily Tribune and the Detroit Free Press.

The Plaindealer reported on many issues related to African Americans, such as education, civil rights, economics, and politics. On September 20, 1889, the newspaper published “WANT TO LEAVE THE SOUTH” that reported on the American National Baptist convention and their request for the U.S. President and Congress to appropriate funding for African Americans to leave the South and settle in the western U.S. In the October 18, 1889 issue, the Plaindealer aligned itself with civil rights leader and journalist Thomas T. Fortune regarding the creation of a National League for African Americans, stating: “THE PLAINDEALER warmly endorsed Mr. Fortune’s first suggestion of the formation of a National League, and recent utterances and actions on the part of the enemies to Afro-American progress have renewed its desire for some organized effort by means of which the evils which threaten the race may be averted or overcome.”

Readers of the Plaindealer could also find information about individual citizens, events, and activities from around the nation in the “About Persons and Things” column that appeared regularly in the newspaper. For local news, the Plaindealer offered the “Mere Mentions” column, later renamed “Mere Mention” in 1890. In 1892, the Plaindealer expanded its reach and began publishing in Cincinnati, OH. W.S. Tisdale led the Cincinnati department of the newspaper and was succeeded by Sam B. Hill later the same year. Information about Cincinnati residents could be found in the “Locally Noted” and “Personal Mentions” columns.

In 1892 the editors made significant changes in the formatting of the Plaindealer, including the introduction of a more extensive masthead. In the June 3, 1892 issue, the newspaper’s masthead described the Plaindealer as an “Inter-State Weekly Journal.” In this issue, the newspaper referred to itself as “The People’s Pride,” “The Cheapest,” and “The Brightest.” Later issues, for example the May 19, 1893 issue, included quotes about the Plaindealer from subscribers.

In 1885, the Plaindealer circulated to 2,100 people and by 1893, circulation increased to 3,142, as reported by the publisher. The Plaindealer ceased publication in 1894 due to financial issues. The office location of the Plaindealer is now a Detroit historical landmark and is commemorated with a special plaque detailing the importance of the newspaper to the city’s history.

Note: The issues digitized for this newspaper were microfilmed for and sponsored by the Committee on Negro Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies and Bell & Howell, a microfilming company, by the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service in 1947, compiling African American newspapers published in the U.S. throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. For more information on the microfilm collection, see: Negro Newspapers on Microfilm, a Selected List (Library of Congress), published in 1953. While this collection contains selections from many U.S. newspapers titles, for further coverage, view a complete list of all digitized African American titles available in the Chronicling America collection.

Provided By: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Plaindealer (Detroit, Mich.) 1883-1895

Other Title

  • Plain dealer
  • Detroit plaindealer

Dates of Publication

  • 1883-1895

Created / Published

  • Detroit, Mich. : Plaindealer Co.

Headings

  • -  African Americans--Michigan--Detroit--Newspapers
  • -  African Americans--Ohio--Cincinnati--Newspapers
  • -  African American newspapers--Michigan
  • -  African American newspapers--Ohio
  • -  Wayne County (Mich.)--Newspapers
  • -  Detroit (Mich.)--Newspapers
  • -  Cincinnati (Ohio)--Newspapers
  • -  Hamilton County (Ohio)--Newspapers
  • -  African American newspapers
  • -  African Americans
  • -  Michigan
  • -  Michigan--Detroit
  • -  Michigan--Wayne County
  • -  Ohio
  • -  Ohio--Cincinnati
  • -  Ohio--Hamilton County
  • -  United States--Michigan--Wayne--Detroit
  • -  United States--Ohio--Hamilton--Cincinnati

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began with May 16, 1883 issue; ceased in 1895?
  • -  Published simultaneously at Detroit, Mich., and Cincinnati, Ohio, Apr. 8, 1892-<1893>.
  • -  Microfilmed for the Committee on Negro Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies by the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 7, no. 18 (Sept. 20, 1889) = whole no. 328.

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83016683

OCLC Number

  • 9975654

ISSN Number

  • 2997-7703

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.

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Cite This Item

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

Chicago citation style:

The Plaindealer Detroit, Mich. -1895. (Detroit, MI), Jan. 1 1883. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83016683/.

APA citation style:

(1883, January 1) The Plaindealer Detroit, Mich. -1895. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83016683/.

MLA citation style:

The Plaindealer Detroit, Mich. -1895. (Detroit, MI) 1 Jan. 1883. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn83016683/.