On Dec. 3 , 1847,Frederick Douglass , a former striver , andDr . Martin Delaney , a black physician , published thefirst issueof the anti - thrall newspaperThe North Star — named for the celestial icon come by fugitiveslavesescaping to freedom .
The inimitable andsteely - eyedDouglass had antecedently worked as an antislavery lecturer alongside his mentor and Quaker , the most famous blank emancipationist in America , William Lloyd Garrison , publisher of the renowned newspaperThe Liberator .
Ultimately , though , Douglass do to believe in an independent black pressure that , as stated in the first matter of TheNorth Star , represented and advocated for its own hoi polloi , " not only , but peculiarly — not distinct from , but in connection with our white admirer . "
In The North Star’spremier issue , Douglass stated unequivocally :
What Douglassunderstoodin the pre - Civil War era when he launched The North Star is that the voices of the persecute involve to be try : " … that the man take up is the human race to CRY OUT – and that he who has persist the cruel pangs of Slavery is the adult male to urge Liberty . "
Now , 172 years later , with the permit and approving of the Douglass phratry descendants , civil rightsactivist and diary keeper Shaun King and political analystBenjamin Dixonof The Progressive Army have rebuild Douglass ' pivotal nineteenth century emancipationist newspaper for a twenty-first C audience .
With the stated goal " not just to vary the news show , but to interchange the earth , " the new incarnation of The North Star willemploy diverse voicesto report stories that either are n’t being cover in - depth or are being drop altogether by the mainstream media . The finish is to finally have a podcast , daily videos , fluid apps for both iPhone and Android , a full news website and a every night on-line news program broadcast .
King , chief executive officer of the burgeoning young vent , specify to establish an independent hard news program and ethnic commentary platform that inform and empowers masses to stand up for marginalized radical who confront profound justice - related outcome .
King and Dixon waged an online grassroots campaign to revive the iconic composition and build a dismission journalism platform that will serve contend systemic iniquity and corruption at what they discover on thehome pageas a " deeply knotty item not just in American account , but in the history of the intact globe . "
And they ’ve done it without accept any form of venture capital or commercial support — funding it 100 percent " by the mass , for the people " as a puppet to unabashedly fight back for human rights and social change .
In an onlinevideoto promote rank for the subscription - only paper ( monthly fees range from $ 5 for students , $ 10 for a basic membership and move incrementally eminent for a wider range of access ) , King said , " some of the most important stories in our culture , in our community and in the world are n’t even being tell properly now . Part of why we ’re build up The North Star is so that we can check that all of our account are being told with the color , the nuance , the dimension , and the character and skill that they deserve — and right now that ’s really not pass . "
Frederick Douglass ' great - great - great grandson , Kenneth B. Morris , Jr. , Colorado - founder and president ofFrederick Douglass Family Initiatives(FDFI ) , says in an email , " My great ancestor release The North Star to create a mouthpiece for enslaved and persecute multitude . I am proud of that Shaun and Ben ’s enterprise will take its cue from the original report and speak to publication smite all disenfranchised group while offering view on issues decisive to the bootleg residential district . "
Douglass , who was a ferocious and indefatigable defender for individual rights , advocated in his lifetime for Native American right wing , immigrant’srights andwomen’srights at a time when his own rights were being denied . ask a few weeks before his dying at the age of 77 what advice he would propose to a youthful black American , Douglass replied:“Agitate ! Agitate ! Agitate ! "
" Douglass fought against unfairness wherever it existed,“Morris says . " He demanded that the rural area and the slaveholding power be held accountable for the wickedness of bondage . He believed in speaking up for those who ca n’t verbalise for themselves and standing up for those who ca n’t stand up for themselves . "
The North Star launched on Feb. 14 , 2019 — Douglass ' 201st natal day . With more than 16,000 establish members already on instrument panel and 25,000 extremity at the launching date , King hop to have 100,000 phallus by the end of 2019 . Clickhereto assistance affirm The North Star .
