Abolitionist Newspaper Returns 200 Years after Its Launch

Abolitionist Newspaper Returns 200 Years after Its Launch

The first abolitionist newspaper in the United States is returning to publication more than 200 years after its launch in 1820.

The new version of the anti-slavery publication The Emancipator² is a joint³ effort by Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research and The Boston Globe newspaper.

Deborah Douglas and Amber⁵ Payne are co-editors-in-chief of the new online publication. They say the site will include opinion pieces, multimedia⁶ series, and other content by respected scholars and seasoned journalists. The goal, they say, is to redirect the national conversation around racial injustice⁷.

"I like to say it's anti-racism, every day, on purpose," said Douglas. She joined the project after working as a journalism⁸ professor at DePauw University in Indiana.

"We are targeting anyone who wants to be a part of the solution to creating an anti-racist⁴ society because we think that leads us to our true north, which is democracy."

The Emancipator was founded in 1820 in Jonesborough, Tennessee, by iron manufacturer Elihu Embree. Its stated purpose was "the abolition¹ of slavery" as well as collecting important documents on the subject of slavery. The University of Tennessee holds a digital collection of copies of the newspaper.

The Emancipator reached about 2,000 readers. Copies were sent across the South and to readers in several northern cities that were centers of the abolition movement. These included Boston, Massachusetts and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Those abolitionists were considered radical⁹ and extreme," Douglas said. "But that's part of our job as journalists — providing those tools, those perspectives that can help them imagine a different world."

Similar projects have also recently come online, including The North Star, a media site launched in 2019 by civil rights activist¹⁰ Shaun King and journalist Benjamin Dixon. They say its aim is to bring back Frederick Douglass' important anti-slavery newspaper. The American scholar, abolitionist and former slave was one of the most influential¹¹ thinkers of the 1800s.

Douglas said The Emancipator will be free to the public and donations will support its production. The site will center on scholarly work and thought --- not breaking news, she said.

"This is really deep reporting, deep research and deep analysis that's scholarly driven, but written at a level that everyone can understand," Douglas said, adding "Everyone is invited," to the discussion.

The publication also hopes to fight racist misinformation by using explanatory videos and written pieces, she said.

The Emancipator's Amber Payne spoke¹² of another major goal for the publication: reporting about solutions to some of the nation's most difficult racial problems.

"There are community groups, advocates and legislators who are really taking matters into their own hands so how do we amplify¹³ those solutions and get those stories told?" she said.

Payne joined the project after working at BET.com and Teen Vogue¹⁴ magazine.

"There's so much scholarly research that just doesn't fit into a neat, 800-word Washington Post op-ed," she said, adding that the new paper is "uniquely positioned."

The project has already posted a few pieces. For the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol building, The Emancipator published its discussion with a Harvard social justice professor and commentary from a Boston College poetry professor.

The Emancipator is centered on the Black community. But, Douglas and Payne say it will also report on issues affecting other minority communities, such as the rise in crimes against Asian-Americans during the pandemic.

Words in This Story

abolition – n. being against something, such as slavery

scholar – n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it

journalist – n. the activity or job of collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

society – n. the people of a particular country, area, time, etc., thought of especially as an organized community

radical – adj. very new and different from what is traditional or ordinary

perspective – n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)

analysis – n. a careful study of something to learn about its parts, what they do, and how they are related to each other

advocate – v. a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy

amplify – v. to give more information about

unique – adj. special or unlike other things

1 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

2 emancipator   

n.释放者；救星

参考例句：

• Lincoln is known as the Great Emancipator. 林肯是著名的伟大的解放者。 来自互联网
• The strategy of intervention and the role of the emancipator are strongly inspired by critical theory. 理论研究大大地激发了人为的干预政策和对释放者的扮演。 来自互联网

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

6 multimedia   

adj.多种手段的，多媒体的；n.多媒体

参考例句：

• Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合。
• Adam raised the issue of multimedia applications and much useful discussion ensued.亚当提出了多媒体应用的问题，从而引发了许多有益的讨论。

7 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

8 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

11 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

14 Vogue   

n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的

参考例句：

• Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
• Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。