We Now Belong to Ourselves

Abstract At the turn of the twentieth century, The Black press provided a blueprint for Black Americans to transition from slavery into opportunities of advancement and prosperity in greater American society. This happened in part because, the Black press presented a unified message that educated an entire generation on how to guard their rights and take claim of their new American citizenship. This book will explore the various ways the Black press prepared Black Americans to flee the South, leave sharecropping, start businesses, purchase property and engage in civic life. Jefferson Lewis Edmonds, founder and editor of The Liberator newspaper, saw the power of the Black press and its ability to instill pride, mobilize the Los Angeles community and establish independence from a violent and oppressive South. His journey started as an enslaved man in Mississippi and transformed into a remarkable civil rights advocate and journalist. This book will detail Edmonds’ personal journey towards freedom. His family stories and refections of the author, his great great granddaughter, Arianne Edmonds will be interwoven throughout.