Expanded access to Black newspapers

University of Chicago faculty, students, and staff now have access to the Michigan Chronicle, a weekly African-American newspaper based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1939 by John H. Sengstacke, editor of the Chicago Defender, the newspaper was a leading advocate for the rights of Black service and auto industry workers, and an ally of organized labor. It played a key role in civil rights struggles, endorsed political candidates, and exposed police brutality and violence against African Americans that mainstream media downplayed or ignored.

Alongside its advocacy work and social justice reporting, the newspaper recorded decades of information about everyday life, sports and entertainment industry news. This archive provides digital access to the Michigan Chronicle from 1939 to 2010.

In addition to this new acquisition, the Library now offers access to more extensive full-text coverage of the Chicago Defender, from 1910 to 2010.

Both newspapers are available for text mining in TDM studio, a tool developed by Proquest. More information can be found on our guide to TDM Studio. Researchers can access our collections of digital newspapers on our guide to newspapers.