User:Sprinklesprinkle800/The Weekly Louisianian

The Weekly Louisianian was a weekly periodical published from 1870 to 1882. The periodical was originally published by the Louisiana Publishing Company and was based in New Orleans, LA. The Weekly Louisianian was founded by P. B. S. Pinchback who left the periodical in 1872 after he was elected as the governor of Louisiana. A year after it's first publication, the periodical changed names to the Semi-Weekly Louisianian.

Content
The audience of the periodical consisted of both black and white readers. The motto of the paper was "Republican at all times, and under all circumstances" prior to the switch of ideologies between the Republican and Democratic parties.

The periodical strove to educate its viewers on U.S. politics with specific focus on the Louisiana state legislature and several Republican committees. The paper was particularly concerned with the education of African Americans and the subject spanned the majority of their news reporting. The periodical highlighted many historically black universities such as Straight University and Howard University.

The Weekly Louisianian covered many subjects that spanned genres. The most significant subjects for the periodical were education and politics such as desegregation and the Louisianian politics of the time. However, the periodical also covered Southern immigration, black Masons, and entertainment in New Orleans.

Editors
The Weekly Louisianian had multiple editors throughout its short publication span that had many accomplishments outside of the paper. The first editor of the paper was William G. Brown who served the paper from 1870 to 1872. Brown resigned in late 1872 upon his appointment to be the Louisiana state superintendent of education. The second editor for the paper, Henry A. Corbin, worked for one year before resigning in 1874. George Thompson Ruby succeeded Corbin and was well known for his attempt to establish a desegregated school and his term in the Texas state senate. He worked for one year before resigning in 1875 and was succeeded by the founder, P. B. S. Pinchback. At this point, the majority of the work was done by Straight University graduate students. In 1879, J. M. Vance, T. De S. Tucker, and James D. Kennedy assumed the role of editor until the periodical's termination in 1882.

Politics
The Weekly Louisianian has been politically involved in the advocacy for racial equality on numerous occasions. The periodical was known for its advocacy of desegregating schools across the U.S. in order to make education accessible for people of color. In the early 1870s, the periodical advocated for the racial integrating public spaces such as the Louisiana Jockey Club. The periodical urged their readers to boycott the races until desegregation of the town race course was implemented.

Appearance in court
In January and February 1871, the periodical was enlisted by the Louisiana House of Representatives to publish two of their sessions for the price of $6,000 and $5,000 respectively. However, the House only paid the paper $1,000 for the first session due to the lack of funds in the Senate contingency fund. Additionally, the Senate only paid $1,867 to the periodical for the second session. In 1873, the periodical requested a session with the House of Representatives to resolve the issue. During this session, the periodical requested and were granted full payment of the missing amount for both sessions as well as interest.

Scholarly resource
The periodical additionally shows up as a significant source in the novel, Black Genesis. Black Genesis behaved as a source that provided resources and methodology in which to study the genealogy of Black Americans.