The Carolina Times

The Carolina Times is an American, English language weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States, founded in 1919[1] or 1921.[2]

The Carolina Times
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Founded1919
LanguageAmerican English
HeadquartersDurham, North Carolina
OCLC number2259007

History

In 1921 Charles Arrant founded The Standard Advertiser in Durham, North Carolina.[3] The publication served as the only newspaper for the city's black residents.[4] Arrant was killed in 1922.[3] In 1927 Louis Austin, The Standard Advertiser's sports editor, acquired a loan from Mechanics and Farmers Bank and purchased the paper.[4] Under Austin's ownership and editorship, the publication's name was changed to The Carolina Times. The paper devoted a significant amount of its news coverage to accounts of racial discrimination. Austin frequently used his editorials to advocate for racial equality.[5] The Carolina Times served as the campaign headquarters for the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs (DCNA), which was later renamed the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People.[6] One notable success that Louis E. Austin had in his fight for equality (of many) was the arrest and conviction of a police officer who assaulted an African-American man. The officer would have not been reprimanded for his actions without the vocal support of The Carolina Times, as well as the efforts of the DCNA.[3] The paper's primary sources of revenue were advertising sales and circulation. Austin's progressive stance and use of the paper for advocacy sometimes angered wealthy blacks in Durham, who in return refused to sell him advertisements or grant him loans. On several occasions black banks such as Mechanics and Farmers Bank, feeling that The Carolina Times was a critical resource for the black community, granted Austin loans to continue running the paper. Austin struggled to fund the publication into the early 1950s.[7]

Austin died in 1971, and his daughter, Vivian Edmonds, subsequently assumed control of the paper.[4] On January 14, 1979, the building that housed The Carolina Times was burned to the ground; little survived the blaze, and their entire back stock of papers was destroyed. The authorities suspected that it was arson. Edmonds continued the paper's publication, and had a new issue out that Thursday.[8][9][10]

The paper continues to be published today by Austin's grandson, Kenneth Edmonds,[11] and is the only black-owned and operated newspaper in Durham.[12]

Works cited
  • Gershenhorn, Jerry (2006). "Double V in North Carolina: The Carolina Times and the Struggle for Racial Equality during World War II". Journalism History. 32 (3): 156–167. doi:10.1080/00947679.2006.12062711.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Gershenhorn, Jerry (2018-02-06). Louis Austin and the Carolina times : a life in the long black freedom struggle. Chapel Hill. ISBN 9781469638775. OCLC 1022117277.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References
  1. "The Carolina Times". Library of Congress. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  2. Gershenhorn 2018, p. 18.
  3. Gershenhorn, Jerry (January 2010). "A Courageous Voice for Black Freedom: Louis Austin and the Carolina Times in Depression-Era North Carolina". The North Carolina Historical Review. Raleigh, NC. 87 (1): 57–92.
  4. Gershenhorn 2006, p. 157.
  5. Gershenhorn 2006, pp. 157–158.
  6. Oral History Interview with H. M. Michaux, November 20, 1974. Interview A-0135. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  7. Gershenhorn 2006, p. 158.
  8. N N P A. "Carolina Times Razed: Arson seen." New York Amsterdam News: A4. 1979.
  9. Burke, Gerard. "Arson blamed for fire that razed Carolina Times." Baltimore Afro-American: 17. February 6, 1979.
  10. 7. Gershenhorn, Jerry. Louis Austin and the Carolina Times: A Life in the Long Black Freedom Struggle. Chapel Hill: University of NorthCarolina Press, 2018.
  11. DigitalNC. The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.). North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.
  12. Rogers, Jean (28 September 2005). "Durham tradition serves as voice of black community". Campus Echo, NCCU. Durham, NC. 97 (2).
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