CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
The Richmond Planet was first published in 1882, seventeen years after the end of the Civil War. The thirteen founders (including James H. Hayes, James H. Johnston, E.R. Carter, Walter Fitzhugh, Henry Hucles, Albert V. Norrell, Benjamin A. Graves, James E. Merriweather, Edward A. Randolph, William H. Andrews and Reuben T. Hill) were formerly enslaved men who pooled their meager resources to start the Richmond Planet. This newspaper played an important part in shaping the opinions of individuals in Richmond, Virginia, and the nation.
The Planet's first editor-in-chief was Edwin Archer Randolph, a Yale graduate and a leading politician of his day. James E. Merriwether, an educator and civic leader, and E.R. Carter, also prominent in politics, served under Randolph as contributing editors. Reuben T. Hill was selected to manage the paper while the other members of the group, who were mostly employed as public school teachers, made occasional written contributions to the paper.
In 1884, 21-year-old John Mitchell Jr., succeeded Randolph and continued as editor-in-chief for the next 45 years. Mitchell transformed the newspaper, investing in new press equipment and contributing his own artwork and editorial cartoons. By 1904, the Richmond Planet had reached a weekly circulation of 4,200 and turned a modest profit. In addition to covering local, national, and international news, the paper quickly gained a reputation as a staunch defender of the African American community and a voice against racial injustice. In 1904, Mitchell used its pages to encourage a boycott of Richmond's streetcars after the local operator implemented segregation on the cars, although the boycott did not prevent the state from adopting a law in 1906 mandating that public transportation be segregated. The Planet reported on segregation, the actions of the Ku Klux Klan, and occurrences of lynching around the country, while advocating for the civil and political rights of Black Americans. The Richmond Planet became one the South’s most forceful Black voices.
Under John Mitchell, the "Strong Arm" became the image for the newspaper's masthead. It depicted a flexed bicep surrounded by shock waves that radiated out from a clenched fist, reflecting the force and energy with which Mitchell projected his opinions. Undeterred by people who opposed his work, Mitchell's stories, editorials, and cartoons denounced racial prejudice and exposed those who perpetrated acts of violence against the African Americans. After Mitchell's death in 1929, the Planet continued publishing until 1938 when it merged with the Afro-American.
Citation: Richmond Planet Masthead, November 18, 1893, Richmond, Virginia: Newspapers, Library of Virginia.
Related Document Bank Entry: John Mitchell Jr., Obituary Announcement, Richmond, 1929.
Read the Richmond Planet online at Virginia Chronicle.
Watch the Tilt Creative + Production, LLC, documentary, Birth of a Planet (26 min.), in the Library's online catalog.
Standards
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Looking at Language: Read the language of the headlines and text, and look at the picture. What was the editor trying to say about Black people and their power? Why was this important?
Post Activities
Analyze: Think about civil rights. How is this newspaper promoting the rights of Black people? Why do you think this newspaper became so popular? How do you think white Virginians may have reacted to this newspaper's publication, and why?
Dig Deeper: Read more about John Mitchell Jr., in this Document Bank entry. How does the newspaper reflect the outlook and character of Mitchell himself? Why might the Planet have been important for the success of Mitchell's other efforts?