Richmond Planet

The Richmond Planet was an African American newspaper founded in 1882 in Richmond, Virginia.[1] In 1938, it merged with the Richmond Afro-American.

The Richmond Planet
Richmond Planet on Saturday, May 31, 1902
Founder(s)James H. Hayes,
James H. Johnston,
E.R. Carter,
Walter Fitzhugh,
George W. Lewis,
James E. Robinson,
Henry Hucles,
Albert V. Norrell,
Benjamin A. Graves,
James E. Merriweather,
Edward A. Randolph,
William H. Andrews
Reuben T. Hill
PublisherEdwin A. Randolph
John Mitchell Jr. (1884–1929)
Founded1882 (1882)
Ceased publication1938
CityRichmond, Virginia
CountryUnited States
ISSN2151-4011
OCLC number10412790

History
The Planet publishing house
The Planet publishing house

The paper was founded in 1882 gathering in an upper room of a building located near the corner of Third and Broad streets thirteen former slaves (James H. Hayes, James H. Johnston, E.R. Carter, Walter Fitzhugh, George W. Lewis, James E. Robinson, Henry Hucles, Albert V. Norrell, Benjamin A. Graves, James E. Merriweather, Edward A. Randolph, William H. Andrews and Reuben T. Hill) who pooled their meager resources and started America’s oldest Negro newspaper on a career which was destined to play an important part in molding the opinions of Negroes in this city, state and nation.[2] It was edited first by Edwin Archer Randolph and then by John Mitchell, Jr. from 1884 until his death in 1929.[3] Mitchell was also president of the National Afro-American Press Association and the founder and president of Mechanics Savings Bank. By 1904 The Planet had reached a weekly circulation of 4,200.[2] The paper continued publication until 1938, when it merged with the Richmond Afro-American.[4]

The paper responded to the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. The work of photographer James C. Farley was published in the Planet.[5] Farley served on the board of Mitchell Jr.'s Mechanics Savings Bank.

John Mitchell Jr. was the paper's junior editor in 1912. The same year the paper covered the opening of Lincoln Memorial Hall on the campus of Temperance, Industrial, and Collegiate Institute in Claremont, Virginia.[6]

References
  1. "About · Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909". blackvirginia.richmond.edu.
  2. "Richmond planet. [volume]". Chronicling America « Library of Congress. 2008-08-04. ISSN 2151-4011. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  3. "John Mitchell, Jr., and the Richmond Planet". www.lva.virginia.gov.
  4. Library of Congress 2019.
  5. "J. C. Farley Photos". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  6. Drew 2010, p. 138–.


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