What Happened
On this day in 1864, the New Orleans Tribune became America's first Black daily newspaper. Printed in both English and French, it pressed for full citizenship rights — especially the right to vote — at a time when the Civil War had not yet ended. The paper was founded by Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez, a physician who had studied medicine in Paris, and edited by Belgian activist Jean-Charles Houzeau. It ran until 1869 and laid the groundwork for Black political journalism in America.
Why It Still Matters
The New Orleans Tribune didn't wait for freedom to be official before it started acting free. It published in two languages because its readers were bilingual, sophisticated, and serious about their rights. That's not a footnote in history — that's a blueprint. Black journalists have been fighting for the truth and for their communities since before this country was willing to admit they were citizens.
In 1864, while the Civil War was still being fought, Black journalists in New Orleans were already publishing the newspaper that freedom would need.
Around the Kitchen Table
Which Black newspaper came to your house growing up? The Chicago Defender, the Pittsburgh Courier, the Baltimore Afro-American, the Amsterdam News? Or maybe a local paper that covered your community when nobody else would? Those papers were more than news — they were a lifeline.
Today on Grown Folks Bizness
Weekend edition. Take a moment today to support Black media — a newspaper, a podcast, a newsletter, a YouTube channel. The tradition that started in New Orleans in 1864 is still going, and it still needs us.
Sources
64 Parishes · Roudanez.com · Louisiana State Museum
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