Before the 1960's, Knoxville daily newspapers generally omitted stories of Black people from their society pages.  Consequently, most of the "good news" stories were carried in the Black weeklies, which have been a part of the community for over 120 years.

     The city's first Black newspaper, The Knoxville Examiner, was published by William F. Yardley in 1878. Unfortunately, no copy of that paper is known to exist. Yardley, a candidate for Governor of Tennessee in 1876, also published The Knoxville Bulletin.  The February 25, 1882, issue is on file at Beck Center.  It is numbered as Volume I, Number 19.

     This paper carried political ads, a long article about racial concerns at Maryville College, and some death notices.  One article that took nearly a full page was the wedding of Mr. Judge P. Fields of Eaton, Ohio, and Miss Ella C. Newton, of Knoxville.  The ceremony was performed at Shiloh Presbyterian Church on Clinch Street by the pastor, Rev. G. W. LeVere.  Most of the article is devoted to the dress of the ladies in attendance and the gifts they brought.

     Since the Examiner, there have been at least 20 other papers published in the Black community.  The one with the longest run was The East Tennessee News, first published by Webster Porter in 1909.  The October 22, 1910, issue at Beck Center is the first anniversary issue, telling how Porter started it.  Porter was only 18-years-old when he started his paper, and he published it for 30 years.

     The front page of the October 22, 1910, issue has a picture of Mary Church Terrell, who spoke on Colored Woman's Day at the Chilhowee Park Appalachian Exposition.  There is a picture of the newly built Green School, Rogers Memorial Baptist Church, and Mount Zion Baptist Church.  There were the usual ads and personal notes.

     In 1928, The Knoxville Flashlight Herald began its run.  Edited by B. Branner Smith, it was a scrappy little paper that dug the dirt and dished it out.  The earliest issue at Beck is dated February 24, 1934.  Later editions of The Herald took issue with the editor of The East Tennessee News and the two exchanged verbal volleys throughout the life of The News.  The Herald continued to publish into the 1960's with different editors.  At one point, Marion Barry, well-known for his tenure as mayor of Washington, DC, was associate editor.

     Other papers followed, including The Independent Call, which started in 1952.  Edited by Curtis Hyatte, it made a valiant effort to offer genuine news items of interest.  It discontinued about 1958.

     Some other papers before 1960 were The Knoxville Voice, The Public Guide, and The Tennessee Eye News.  Copies of these papers are available for public reading.  Students doing research, or people who are just curious, may read them.