African American Icons Who Shook Up The World

Robert Abbott was the pioneer of the black press and paved the way for black publications. He founded The Chicago Defender in 1905, which was one of the most important black newspapers in history. The paper was started with only twenty-five cents capital and was a four-page pamphlet. 

The Chicago Defender became a national newspaper in 1921, with a plant worth almost a half-million dollars, and 70 employees. Abbot gave a voice to the voiceless and was one of the first black millionaires in Chicago. He set the stage for prominent African American publishers.