[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12938]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEW ORLEANS TRIBUNE

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                        HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 23, 2014

  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 150th 
anniversary of the New Orleans Tribune, the country's first African 
American daily newspaper.
  Originally founded in 1864 by Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez, a free man 
of color and native Louisianian from St. James Parish, the Tribune 
served as an outspoken voice for the interests of African Americans 
during a period of turmoil and uncertainty in the final year of the 
Civil War and early Reconstruction. The Tribune aggressively advocated 
for civil rights, black suffrage, desegregated public education, and 
better wages and working conditions for freed slaves. It operated under 
the radical philosophy that ``freedom without equality before the law 
and at the ballot box is impossible.'' Although primarily a lens to 
conditions in Louisiana, the paper worked towards reforming all of 
Southern society by sending a copy of each issue to every member of 
Congress. It quickly received national recognition, and its editorials 
were often read here on the floor of Congress.
  Though the Tribune ceased publishing in 1870, its spirit of advocacy, 
justice, fairness and uncompromising purpose was invoked in 1985 by Dr. 
Dwight and Beverly Stanton McKenna, when they began their newspaper and 
named it in honor of Dr. Roudanez's Tribune. The modern-day Tribune 
continues to offer an invaluable voice on issues affecting the Black 
community in New Orleans and around the country. In June, the African 
American Leadership Project honored the Tribune as its Institution of 
the Year for its ``outstanding reporting, incisive commentary, and 
journalistic advocacy for social justice on behalf of those needing a 
voice.''
  In commemoration of its success, I would like to share part of the 
Tribune's mission statement, published in July 1864 on the front page 
of its first issue: ``Under the above title we publish a new paper 
devoted to the principles heretofore defended by the Union. Convinced 
that a newspaper, under the present circumstances, representing the 
principles and interest which we propose to defend and advocate was 
much needed in New Orleans, we shall spare no means at our command to 
render the Tribune worthy of public confidence and respect.'' Today we 
recognize the fulfillment of this mission. I wish to congratulate the 
McKenna family on this historic milestone, and to thank everyone at the 
New Orleans Tribune for the exceptional service that it provides to the 
African American community.

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