Dozens took part in a lecture Wednesday on African-American newspapers and communities in Kansas at the Wichita Public Library downtown.
Historian Aleen Ratzlaff, professor of communications at Tabor College in Hillsboro, says Kansas has a rich history of newspapers that were owned and published by African-Americans and targeted to black readers.
"The emphasis has been on mainstream newspapers, but there were vital publications that were part of the African-American community as well as other ethic communities," he says.
"They provided news, the platform for people to be able to talk about different kind of views; they provided jobs for people in the community."
The Wichita Globe was the first known African-American newspaper published in the city in 1887. Others 1890s include The Kansas Headlight, The People's Friend, The National Baptist World and The National Reflector.
Ratzlaff says the newspapers were active in promoting education, equality and civic activism.
Marvin Stone, Jr.'s cousin started a black newspaper in Wichita in the 1960s called News Hawk. He says the lecture was significant because it's important for everyone to learn about the varied lives of African-Americans.
Stone says he wishes there was more support for The Community Voice, a neighborhood paper.
"I'm hopeful that some young people would look into starting a newspaper because a lot of the information is being lost and black history needs to be celebrated," he says.
More than 50 African-American newspapers from 1878 to the early 1900s can be viewed at the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka.
