African American Life in Louisville: Newspapers

The Louisville Leader, 1917-1950
7 reels of microfilm
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In 1977 the University Archives microfilmed all available issues of this important black weekly newspaper. The paper constitutes an invaluable resource for the study of the Louisville African American community, ethnic journalism, and American urban institutions. Founded in 1917 by I. Willis Cole, a former Bible salesman, the Leader reported world, national, and local news and addressed the social, legal, and political concerns of African Americans across Kentucky. Under the banner "Militant but Stable," the Leader urged its readers to register, vote, and otherwise exercise political influence in proportion to their numbers.

In 2013, all available issues were digitized and added to our online Digital Collections: View newspaper online

The Ohio Falls Express, July 11, 1891
microfilm copy
The Ohio Falls Express was a weekly newspaper published in Louisville, Kentucky for African Americans by Henry Fitzbutler, MD. It began in 1878 and is believed to have ceased publication in 1904. This microfilm is of the only known issue in existence, July 11, 1891 and was filmed by the Library of Congress for the Committee on Negro Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies.