This exhibit explores the Richmond Planet, a black-owned newspaper that ran from 1883-1938. As the title suggests, it was based out of Richmond, Virginia, and it ran weekly issues. The Planet was founded by thirteen former slaves and edited by Edmund Archer Randolph. This exhibit in particular examines reported assaults from the years 1890 and 1900.
The newspaper typically is eight pages long, with tiny print compacted into several columns. Compared to the year 1890, the papers from 1900 have more advertisements, especially in the back of the paper.
Assault reports in the Richmond Planet are rarely international. The majority are out of state, with some local reports. This reporting often was not front-page news, but instead could be found mid-way through the paper, and in 1900, often under a section named “General Southern News,” where Southern states’ notable stories were recounted.