Of 92 Black press newspapers researched in Kansas for our database, 31 had articles pertaining to Confederate commemoration. This made Kansas the state with the most newspapers publishing about Confederate commemoration, with Illinois in second place with 12 publications—most related to the Chicago Defender. Kansas newspapers, however, only produced 118 articles in total—low in comparison to Pennsylvania’s 501 and North Carolina’s 232. These newspapers also tended not to last especially long.
Moreover, the Kansas newspapers almost exclusively focused on short news briefs that did not editorialize or comment on Confederate commemoration as it was happening. In 1903, the American Citizen of Kansas City covered one such monument in two sentences, with a neutral description of the monument’s dimensions and materials.[1] The Advocate (Coffeyville, KS) published a short brief on planting memorial trees in honor of CSA General Robert E. Lee, among notable American and Union politicians and generals.[2]
The Wichita Searchlight (Wichita, KS) published several short news briefs monitoring Confederate commemoration. Concerning an event in Richmond, they offered a one-sentence description of the mayor’s speech stating “he recognized but two flags, the battle flag of Virginia and the flag of the confederacy.”[3] They also reported on the festivities held in honor of Jefferson Davis’s 100th birthday, listing the states celebrating it as an official holiday.[4]
The Kansas Whip of Topeka wrote a short news brief derived from the wire service Associated Negro Press that seems to contain a subtle hint of editorializing about Georgia’s decision to begin flying the Confederate battle flag over the capitol in 1938, noting that “a large part of [the state] still resents the South’s loss in the Civil war.”[5]
This genre of short news briefs observing, but not commenting on Confederate commemoration, was prevalent in many Black newspapers across the country, but especially marked Kansas’s contributions. Black journalists clearly saw the topic of Confederate commemoration as having high relevance for their readers, but whether over safety concerns, a commitment to a particular genre of journalism, or some other reason, refrained from expressly criticizing it.
Justin Seward
Please cite as:
Seward, Justin. “Numbers and News Briefs in Kansas’ Black Press.” False Image of History: Perspectives on Confederate Commemoration from the Black Press (online). Fall 2024 Edition. Schaefer, Donovan O., ed. URL = https://falseimage.pennds.org/essay/numbers-and-news-briefs-in-kansas’-black-press/.
References
Advocate (Coffeyville, KS). “Vets Plant Memorial Trees.” September 25, 1925.
American Citizen (Kansas City, KS). “To Confederate Dead.” September 18, 1903.
Kansas Whip (Topeka, KS). “Over Georgia Capital.” February 18, 1938.
Wichita Searchlight (Wichita, KS). “Monument to Confederates.” June 6, 1903.
Wichita Searchlight (Wichita, KS). “Jefferson Davis’s Centenary.” June 6, 1908.
American Citizen (Kansas City, KS). “To Confederate Dead.” ↩︎
Advocate (Coffeyville, KS). “Vets Plant Memorial Trees.” ↩︎
Wichita Searchlight (Wichita, KS). “Monument to Confederates.” ↩︎
Wichita Searchlight (Wichita, KS). “Jefferson Davis’s Centenary.” ↩︎
Kansas Whip (Topeka, KS). “Over Georgia Capital.” ↩︎