Portland New Age

The New Age, later known as the Portland New Age, was the first African-American newspaper published in the U.S. state of Oregon. Publisher Adolphus D. Griffin, known as a "political leader of the colored people of the Willamette Valley,"[1] was in his mid-20s when he launched the weekly newspaper in 1896. Portland's black population, which numbered fewer than 800 on the paper's launch date,[2] were highly literate in comparison to southern blacks of the time, and to Oregon's white laboring class.[1] At the time, black people were legally prohibited from living in the state by a provision in the Oregon Constitution.[3] The New Age, which included national news items in addition to local coverage, cultivated a white readership in addition to its black audience.[3]

Portland New Age

Type	African American newspaper
Publisher	Adolphus D. Griffin
Founded	1896 (1896)
City	Oregon
Country	United States
Media of the United States List of newspapers

The Oregon Historical Society holds about 400 issues of the New Age,[1] and the University of Oregon and Harvard University have issues on microfilm.[4]

Prior to launching the New Age, Griffin had been editor of the Northwest Echo in Spokane, Washington. He left Portland for unknown reasons in 1907, and the newspaper did not survive his departure. He died nine years later; at the time he was editor of the Kansas Elevator.[5]