Black Newspapers of Ft. Smith
and Van Buren, Arkansas

• Appreciator 1898 -1922

• Appreciator Union 1912-1922

• Arkansas Appreciator 1898-1946

• Arkansas Baptist Flashlight 1934-1946

• Banner 1896-1897

• Fraternal Union 1907-1914

• Golden Epoch 1888-1890

• Informer 1912

• Lincoln Echo 1995 - Present

• Our Eastern Star 1899-1908

• People's Protector 1889-1892

• People's Protector (Van Buren) 1888-1888

• Pythian Herald 1904-1908

Only 20 years after securing freedom, the black community of the western frontier city of Ft. Smith, began to speak for itself through a number of publications that emerged from its citizens.

The first newspaper emerged in 1888, with the Golden Epoch. Until the 1940's there was always a black publication of some kind, that became part of the voice of the community. Silence would fall upon the community until the mid 1990s, when the Lincoln Echo emerged again, thanks to founders Sheri Tolliver and Barbara Webster. The Echo joins an impressive list of publications that were produced in Ft. Smith. Most of these publications have been lost, and few, if any issues remain. Hopefully, as local citizens become more interested in local history, old trunks will be opened, and attics explored, and some of these precious gems from the past will surface and be preserved as part of the local history. This list is produced here as a legacy to Ft. Smith's black publications. Hopefully other works will emerge to reflect the colorful history of this vibrant frontier town.