African American newspapers have been writing early drafts of Florida history since Josiah T. Wells published the state’s first African American-owned newspaper in 1873.

For almost 150 years, Florida African American newspapers have reported on, and ultimately preserved, the story of communities across the state. Although many of these papers have not been saved and archived, the USF Libraries Special Collections in Tampa and St. Petersburg have maintained and preserved two of the state’s most important African American newspapers, the Florida Sentinel Bulletin and The Weekly Challenger.

The African American Experience in Florida (AAE) journalism collection not only includes microfilm and digital versions of these newspapers but also the papers of Norman E. Jones, Sr., a conservative African American newspaper columnist and publicist Each of these collections is a valuable journalism-related primary source for researchers hoping to learn about Florida and Tampa Bay African American history.