1920 issue (copy)
*The first issue of the Negro World weekly newspaper was published on this date in 1918.
Its publisher, Marcus Garvey, founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in July 1914, and the organization's target audience was only African Americans instead of the general public. Established in New York City, the paper had a weekly distribution of over five hundred thousand copies at its peak, including subscribers and newspaper purchasers. Monthly, Negro World distributed more copies than The Messenger, The Crisis, and Opportunity (other important black publications).
For a nickel, readers received a front-page editorial by Garvey, along with poetry and articles of international interest to people of African ancestry. Under the editorship of Amy Jacques Garvey, the paper featured a full page called "Our Women and What They Think." Negro World also played an important part in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. The paper was a focal point for publication on the arts and African American culture, including poetry, commentary on theatre and music, and regular book reviews. Romeo Lionel Dougherty, a prominent figure of the Jazz Age, began writing for Negro World in 1922.
Colonial rulers banned its sales and even possession in their territories, including British Empire and French colonial Empire possessions. Distribution in foreign countries was conducted through black seamen who would smuggle the paper into such areas. Negro World ceased publication in 1933.
