Independent African American newspapers have traditionally been important information outlets for the Black community. As people lived under the oppression of Jim Crow, fought for equality, and sought unbiased reporting, these enterprises printed news and opinions that mainstream media ignored or slanted.
Maryland readers had the Afro-American and the Afro-American Ledger, both Baltimore papers telling stories from their subscribers’ perspectives. Correspondents filled their pages with uplifting coverage of social happenings and events while the editors campaigned against the issues of the age. The editions contained news that readers couldn’t find in the mainstream press.–and contributing writers from Cecil County penned columns for the city publications.
In 1903, a new minister in Elkton, the Rev. Joseph Gwynn, arrived in Elkton to serve the Elkton A.U.M.P. Church. Rev Gwynn decided Cecil County needed an African American newspaper to serve the “interest of the colored people of Elkton.” As a result, he launched and edited a weekly, “The Problem.”
The first number appeared in homes in Cecil County at the start of January 1903. While copies have not survived the passage of over a century. Hopefully, someone will discover an issue of this African American newspaper in an attic someday.
The minister was born in Baltimore on May 27, 1872, and died on June 18, 1958.
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