Trusted Messengers: Public Health Education and Advocacy in 20th Century Black American Newspapers.

Abstract

For much of the 20th century, Black readers turned to Black newspapers for health information and advice. The messages reached hundreds of thousands across the United States during a period when the nation's racially separate and unequal health care system limited the ability of Black communities to access vital resources, including public health education. This article, based on an analysis of several hundred health columns published between the 1910s and 1970, traces the origins and evolving role Black newspapers played as trusted messengers of health information. In doing so, it details the strategic ways Black health professionals as well as readers leveraged this form of media to promote health knowledge, address the prevention needs in Black communities, and advocate for better care. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2025;115(3):326-332. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307897).