Greetings AfriGeneas Writers:

When I read about early black newspapers, I always think of Stanley Nelson’s brilliant film, “Soldiers Without Swords” about the history of Black Press. The film’s message tells us that our early publishers, editors and journalists were mightier than the sword.

HUMANITIES Magazine features the life and career of John Mitchell Jr. editor and publisher of Virginia’s Richmond Planet. The article is entitled, “The Brother from the Richmond Planet.” The first paragraph is like a magnet, capturing everyone to read more.

“It played out like a John Ford Western—the hero packing a pair of pistols and walking the streets of the dusty town in search of justice and the man who’d threatened his life. But instead of John Wayne in the lead role, the protagonist in this real-life case was a courageous, twenty-two-year-old, African-American firebrand named John Mitchell Jr. As editor and publisher of the African-American weekly newspaper the Richmond Planet, Mitchell was not content to sit in his office—actually, his boardinghouse attic quarters, which doubled as his newsroom at that time—in the face of injustice.”

Please click on the link below and bookmark John Mitchell’s story.

Enjoy!

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