Newspaper

The Gazette [1891-1898] (Raleigh, N.C.)

Online Availability

66 issues

18911898

35.8436867 -78.7851406

Browse Online Issues by Date

View all Issues from 1896

January

SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 

February

SMTWTFS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829

March

SMTWTFS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031 

April

SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930 

May

SMTWTFS
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31 

June

SMTWTFS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930 

July

SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 

August

SMTWTFS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031 

September

SMTWTFS
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930 

October

SMTWTFS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

November

SMTWTFS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930 

December

SMTWTFS
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031 


More About This Newspaper


About

The Gazette was a weekly newspaper for African Americans published in Raleigh, NC, and the official publication of the North Carolina Industrial Association (NCIA). The newspaper may be a succeeding title of the North Carolina Gazette, a title begun by John H. Williamson (1844-1911) in 1884 or 1885 that also served as the official organ of the NCIA. No issues published prior to October 24, 1891 are known to exist. That issue is volume III, number 49, which suggests that the Gazette may have begun publication in 1888.

The NCIA was a civic organization created by Black leaders in 1879 to promote education for African Americans and their involvement in industry and agriculture. The group sponsored an annual fair that featured speakers and displays of new inventions and industrial devices. The fair, which ran from 1879 to 1930, was a popular gathering for African Americans in North Carolina.

In 1891, the Gazette, also known as the Weekly Gazette and the Raleigh Gazette, billed itself “The Great Negro Newspaper.” It was “the accepted organ of the Black community, who followed its advice in all matters pertaining to its welfare,” according to John Haley, a biographer of Charles N. Hunter, the newspaper’s associate editor. The Gazette circulated to 1,000 readers in 1893. Its circulation reached 1,600 by 1895.

Williamson was the Gazette‘s founding editor and publisher. He was a veteran newspaper publisher and editor, having started the Banner of Raleigh in 1881, the same year he was elected secretary of the NCIA. Williamson was also a founding partner in the Banner-Enterprise of Raleigh in 1883. He served six terms in the North Carolina legislature, becoming the longest serving African American legislator in nineteenth-century North Carolina. Williamson used the Gazette to advocate for equal rights and education for African Americans. Under Williamson’s tenure, the Gazette highlighted the Fair, urging Black and white citizens to attend. It also announced prizes and awards to would-be entrants and included letters addressed to Williamson from interested parties across the state.

Hunter (1852-1931) joined the staff of the Gazette in 1891 and remained associated with the newspaper through 1893. Hunter also brought newspaper experience to his position. He and his brother founded the Journal of Industry in 1879. That title served as the first official publication of the NCIA.

In June 1893, James Hunter Young (1858-1921) bought the Gazette. At the time of his purchase, Young was a 15-year veteran of Republican party politics in North Carolina. In 1877, he took a job in a North Carolina district office for the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the predecessor to the Internal Revenue Service. His work with internal revenue allowed Young to develop political connections, and he rose quickly in his job and in the Republican party. In 1894, Young was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives on the Fusionist ticket, a coalition of North Carolina Republicans and Populists. His columns in the Gazette reflected his support of the Republican party; civil rights; and education and self-sufficiency for African Americans.

The Gazette ceased publication in 1898, a year that included a white supremacy campaign resulting in the Democratic party’s return to power in North Carolina and Young’s appointment as a colonel in the 3rd North Carolina Infantry, an all-Black regiment that served stateside during the Spanish-American War.

 

Provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

Titles Used

Locations

Contributor