The Chicago Defender is the oldest and most respected African-American newspaper in Chicago. The Chicago Defender was a weekly newspaper from 1909-1956, when it switched to daily coverage. The Chicago Defender was the most influential black weekly newspaper by the start of WWI, you can read more about the history of the newspaper here.
This database contains searchable and displayable full text coverage of the Chicago Defender.
Note: current files of the Chicago Defender (1989-present) are available separately under Chicago Defender (current: 1989 – current).