A trip down memory lane presenting archives from Black-owned and abolitionist newspapers has become an exhibition at the High Line. Observers at High Line Park can walk by and read the headline “Negro Should Be Proud of His Race,” from The Bystander. Newspapers like this one, published in the 1800s, provided Black Americans a distinct voice and perspective in the media.
Faheem Majeed, artist, professor, and curator from Chicago, debuted “Freedom’s Stand” at High Line Art in September 2022. This 15-foot-tall, repurposed wood piece resembles a vast newsstand, providing onlookers with an opportunity to learn about the importance of vintage Black voices in the U.S. This artistic work has gone over so well that its original one-year stay at High Line Art was extended.
The name “Freedom’s Stand” pays homage to Freedom’s Journal, founded on March 16, 1827, in Manhattan. This became the first Black-owned and -operated paper, according to pbs.org. Freedom’s Journal served as counter-racist commentary to that in the mainstream press, regional, national, and international.
“We worked with about 177 actual images of newspapers, but the archive is much broader,” said Majeed. “We” includes his assistant researcher and former student Shola Jimoh. The stand features different Black-owned printed issues every month. The rotation of publications includes the Tulsa Star, Colored American Magazine, and Black Panther Intercommunal News Service.
“All those newspapers had different agendas and different sources of revenues,” said the artist. This creative, oversized Black-owned newsstand personifies the efforts African Americans made in carving out spaces for their news when white Americans rarely viewed them as humans.
The U.S.’s past is a reminder not to take literacy for granted. “There’s a way in which these newspapers are avenues to express and perform literacy that highlights the ways it was systematically denied from Black Americans,” said Jimoh. From Naperville, Illinois, with Nigerian roots, Jimoh, along with her former professor Majeed, has a better understanding of how newspapers work. This understanding provided African descendants with the tools needed to not only create and report on their own news, but to create publications showcasing their voices.
Most publications from the 1800s marginalized and encouraged the enslavement of Africans and African Americans. News from anti-racist point of views is as essential now as it was then. “There’s a difference in news about Black people, and then a Black perspective, when you own your voice,” said Majeed. He said systematic racism has affected Black people having their voice and image. Freedom’s Journal and similar publications were all about Black voice, according to Majeed, not Black “news.” “Many of them were articles and essays,” said Majeed. “They were from a Black lens [and] being able to control that.”
Majeed strongly believes cultivating the Black outlook was integral to African descendants gaining freedom in the U.S., although many obstacles are still present. For example, Jimoh mentioned Malcolm X’s quote: “The white man will try to satisfy us with symbolic victories rather than economic equity and real justice.”
She brought this up while encouraging African descendants to think about Black History Month’s intended origins. “My role in contributing to this work was understanding the possibilities that Black media has, both historically and contemporarily, and thinking through the lapses that I felt today and how those amended in particularly consequential ways with projects such as this one,” said Jimoh.
Majeed is familiar with public exhibitions such as this one, but this is his largest. While observing who looked at the images, he noticed a diversity of people. He said Black people didn’t always stop, suggesting maybe they weren’t used to being included, especially in that space. “We’re on the High Line, there are all these skyscrapers, million-dollar, billion-dollar real estate,” said Majeed. “And here’s this little shaft, standing up against all of it. It’s such a powerful thing because it does contrast the space.”
Although February is Black History Month, individuals like Majeed are always tuned in because “Black History is important all the time.” He described going through nearly 200 years of history to decide on the final 177 items as “overwhelming.”
“Seeing how similar the conversations were, how repetitive the conversations were…[seeing] how far we’ve come and how far we haven’t was mind-blowing.” He described Jimoh’s assistance as essential and reliable. “As a researcher, she’s just been amazing to work and collaborate with.”
High Line Park requested that the artwork stay because of the incredible feedback. “It’s amazing seeing the diversity of people [viewing it],” said Majeed. “It’s very humbling… even though it’s been up for a while, the same responses when people come across it.”
He applauded High Line Art for 100% supporting freedom of speech, allowing his creativity without any pushback. “Much of my work—you can do a deep dive, or you can just appreciate it in that moment. I think it’s okay for both of those things to happen.”
According to the National Newspaper Publishers Association, there are currently more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers the U.S. Majeed is working on a Chicago version of his “Freedom’s Stand.”For more info, visit https://www.faheemmajeed.com/.