The St. Louis American was part of growing Black business community in 1928

Four days after The St. Louis American was founded on March 17, 1928, Charles Lindbergh was presented the Medal of Honor for his solo transatlantic flight a year earlier.

Lindbergh held personal political views that bordered on fascist, yet his flight was symbolic of a rapidly changing America. It was a nation that, regardless of its rampant racism, could not stop the progress of Black Americans or Black- owned business interests like the American. The Freedom’s Journal, recognized as the first Black owned newspaper, was published in1827, and others including Frederick Douglass’ North Star would soon be available.

By 1928, scores of Black newspapers were being published. This included several in the St. Louis area. A decade after the American was first published, the number of Black newspapers was nearing 250.

From 1881 to 1909 According to its archives, the National Colored Press Association (American Press Association) operated as a trade association from 1881 to 1909. The National Negro Business League-affiliated National Negro Press Association filled operated from 1909 to 1939, and the Encyclopedia of Chicago reports that the Chicago-based Associated Negro Press (1919–1964) was a subscription news agency “with correspondents and stringers in all major centers of Black population."

In 1940, Chicago Defender Publisher John Sengstacke led Black newspaper publishers in forming the trade association known as the National Newspaper Publishers Association.[15] In August 1928, William Alexander Scott II founded the Atlanta World. In 1932, Scott renamed the publication the Atlanta Daily World, making it the first Black daily newspaper in the United States.

The Atlanta Daily World reported on “issues within the Black community including police brutality, segregation in schools, and lynchings,” according to its history.

“By remaining somewhat neutral and taking a moderate Republican stance on topics in politics, the newspaper gains supporters even in Jim Crow Georgia and grows into one of the most successful Black- owned businesses in the country.”

Scott was shot and killed outside of his home in 1934. No one was ever convicted of his murder. Scott also owned Black newspapers in Memphis and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The chain of publications would eventually grow to 50 after his death.

Black-owned newspapers were part of a surging national African American business community.

The number of Black-owned businesses doubled from 20,000 in 1900 to 40,000 in 1914. By1920, there were tens of thousands of Black businesses. Most were small business, however Black owned insurance companies were becoming large. Historian Juliet Walker called 1900–1930 the “Golden age of Black business.”

The National Negro Bankers Association, the National Negro Press Association, the National Association of Negro Funeral Directors, the National Negro Bar Association, the National Association of Negro Insurance Men, the National Negro Retail Merchants’ Association, the National Association of Negro Real Estate Dealers, and the National Negro Finance Corporation were established during this period.

On Nov. 6 1928, Oscar De Priest became the first Black American to represent a northern, urban district when he is elected to Congress representing the South Side of Chicago. He became the first Black American elected to Congress in the 20th century and the first Black Congressperson from the North. His election was watershed because race discussion became newsworthy in most news- papers, not just Black-owned ones.

De Priest’s wife Jessie was invited to a tea party hosted by First Lady Lou Hoover. President Herbert Hoover was chastised by southern Democrats and much of the public for failing to protect “the racial integrity of the white race.” De Priest would later help add anti-discrimination measures to the bill that launched the Conservation Civilian Corps in 1933.

Something else happened in that 1928 election that changed history. For the first time, Black voters voted in large numbers for Democrats, not Republicans.

Other newsworthy events of 1928 included:

• The airport from which Lindbergh began the first leg of his journey, which would later be known as Lambert Field, was leased to the city for $1.

The city purchased the airport after a $2 million bond issue was passed.

• The New York Yankees swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win their third World Series title.

• Claude McKay’s Home to Harlem wins the Harmon Gold Award for Literature.. The book was later challenged by WEB DuBois for casting Black people in stereotypical roles and images.

• The first machine-sliced, machine-wrapped loaf of bread is sold in Chillicothe, Missouri.

African American births of note in 1928 included:

February 26 – Fats Domino, Pianist and singer-songwriter (d. 2017)

April 3 - Earl Lloyd, the NBA’s first Black player (d. 2015)

April 4 - Maya Angelou, poet and novelist (d. 2014)

April 16 – Dick “Night Train” Lane, among the first Black NFL players elected to its Hall of Fame (d. 2002)

September 22 - James Lawson, Civil rights activist, minister and professor

October 17 - Lerone Bennett Jr., Scholar, author (d. 2018)

December 30 – Bo Diddley, African-American musician (d. 2008) It should be noted that Lewis Howard Latimer died on December 11, 1928. He was an African-American inventor and patent draftsman, and his inventions included an evaporative air conditioner, an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for the light bulbs, and an improved toilet system for railroad cars.

In 1884, he joined the Edison Electric Light Company where he worked as a draftsman.

See the entire St. Louis American’s 95th Anniversary Special section.