Still a weapon for freedom! (116th anniversary of the Negro Press)
A printer holds a copy of 'Freedom's Journal' beside a hand press, from which a long stream of newspapers runs down to a giant front page of 'The Negro Press, 116th Anniversary, 1827-1943' resting on a globe, headed 'Win the war, plan the peace'. The tell is transfer: the founding of the Black press is linked to the Allied war aims, and the abstract slogan 'freedom' is attached to the newspaper itself.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Charles Alston)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- Media and information, Race and ethnicity, War and the military
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 208, Artworks and Mockups for Cartoons Promoting the War Effort (NAID 535594), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-7 (NAID 535601).
Text on the object
THE FIRST NEGRO NEWSPAPER, "FREEDOM'S JOURNAL," WAS FOUNDED IN 1827, BY JOHN B. RUSSWORM. FREEDOM'S JOURNAL 1827 THE NEGRO PRESS 116TH ANNIVERSARY 1943 WIN THE WAR---- PLAN THE PEACE!! Alston OWI "STILL A WEAPON FOR FREEDOM!"
