St. Louis Argus

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St. Louis Argus
Type Weekly newspaper
Founder(s) Joseph Everett Mitchell
William Mitchell.
PublisherTalibdin “TD” El-Amin
Managing editorGeoffrey Conners
General managerKyria Virschelle
Founded1912
LanguageEnglish
City St. Louis, Missouri
Website stlargusnews.com

St. Louis Argus is an African-American-oriented weekly newspaper founded in 1912 by brothers Joseph Everett Mitchell and William Mitchell. [1] Nannie Mitchell, William's wife, helped found the paper but worked uncredited for many years, becoming president decades later. [2] The Argus began as a newsletter for an insurance company named Western Union Relief Association. The Argus is the oldest continuous black business in St. Louis, Missouri. [3]

Contents

History

The name, Argus, refers to Argus Panoptes - a creature from Greek mythology with a hundred eyes that never closed at the same time. The newspaper was to be a never-sleeping crusader. [4] It watched the goings-on in the African-American community and published the stories that would also help the influx of southern blacks who were pouring into St. Louis deal with the "vagaries" of northern segregation.

One primary goal of the St. Louis Argus was to organize the Negro community for political action. The editors of the St. Louis Argus promised its readers that it would be moderate, fair, and fearless in its journalistic efforts. Although the paper was closely aligned with the Republican Party and ran advertisements from the Central Committee, Mitchell wrote editorials challenging party politics. By 1925, when the Central Committee would not support Black candidates, the paper no longer claimed allegiance to any political party. [5]

The newspaper championed better schools, educational opportunities, and full civil rights for blacks. [6] Herman Dreer wrote Black history articles, [7] and U.S. Grant Tayes served as a columnist for the newspaper in the 1930s, with the column Oh, Tempore!. [8]

City editors included Herbert T. Meadows (1912-1948), [5] Richard A. Jackson, [9] Steven Korris (1979-1981). [10] Other editors included F. F. Martyn (1912-1915), Phillip H. Murray (1915-1917), William Harold King, Mary Harmon-Ferguson, Minnie Ross [5] , Otis Thompson, [11]

The Argus earned the coveted Russwurm award, named for John Brown Russwurm, one of the founders of the first black newspaper, Freedom’s Journal , which launched in 1827. [10]

Press card Albert Lane's 1965 Press Card.jpg
Press card

21st century

In 2003, Eugene Mitchell, grandson of William and Nannie Mitchell, sold the paper to Eddie Hasan. The paper had suffered almost two decades of decline, and Hasan hired Antonio French and George Jackson to modernize operations. [12]

In 2008, The St. Louis American and other news sources reported donations to the paper from Citizens for a Better St. Louis, a group associated with mayor Francis Slay, and accused the newspaper of giving favorable coverage in return. Following Hasan's conviction on tax evasion, it was announced that the paper would reduce publication frequency in 2009. [13] Alvin Reid was announced as editor in 2009. [14]

Hasan's son-in-law and former Missouri legislator Talibdin El-Amin is the current manager. The paper does not employ full time journalists or distribute print copies. In 2024, a grant from the Press Forward project was paused due to the lack of original reporting. [15]

References

  1. ↑ Danky, James Philip; Hady, Maureen E., eds. (1998). African-American newspapers and periodicals: a national bibliography. Harvard University Press reference library. Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England: Harvard University Press. p. 538. ISBN   978-0-674-00788-8.
  2. ↑ Greene, Debra Foster (May 2003). Published in the interest of colored people: The St. Louis “Argus” newspaper in the twentieth century (PhD thesis). University of Missouri - Columbia. pp. 92–103. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  3. ↑ Smith, JoAnn Adams (1988). Selected Neighbors and Neighborhoods of North Saint Louis and Selected Related Events. St. Louis: Friends of Vaughn Cultural Center. p. 7. OCLC   18801005.
  4. ↑ "St. Louis Media History." St. Louis Media History. Frank Absher, 2008. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Greene, Debra Foster. ""Just Enough of Everything": The St. Louis Argus — An African American Newspaper and Publishing Company in Its First Decade." Business and Economic History- Online. Business History Conference" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Wright, John A. Sr. (2003). African Americans in Downtown St. Louis (Print). Black America Series. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 52. ISBN   9780738531670. OCLC   53886440.
  7. ↑ Osby, Cheryl D; Davis, Matthew D. (2020). "HERMAN H. DREER: A Twentieth Century Black Radical Curriculum Activist". American Educational History Journal . 47 (1/2): 29–45 – via ProQuest.
  8. ↑ "U.S. Grant Tayes". Missouri Remembers. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  9. ↑ Fisher, R.C. (25 Nov 1949). "St. Louis Citizens Fete Sports Writer". The Call (Kansas City) . p. 8.
  10. 1 2 Ross, Gloria S. (June 27, 2012). "Obituary of Dr. Eugene Mitchell: Surgeon, civic leader, owner of St. Louis Argus". www.stlbeacon.org. Archived from the original on 2013-07-20.
  11. ↑ "Still Work To Be Done Editor Says". Michigan Chronicle . March 19, 1955. p. 10.
  12. ↑ Israel, Benjamin (October 2004). "Argus makes strong comeback". St. Louis Journalism Review. 34 (270): 14–29 – via EBSCOhost.
  13. ↑ Israel, Benjamin (January 2009). "Argus Owner in Prison". St. Louis Journalism Review. 38 (10): 16–24 – via EBSCOhost.
  14. ↑ "Alvin Reid to lead the Argus". STLPR. 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  15. ↑ Fenske, Sarah (2024-10-24). "Press Forward presses pause on St. Louis Argus grant". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-15.


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