The Messenger Magazine
The Messenger was an early twentieth century political and literary magazine written by and for African American men and women in the United States. Co-founded in New York by Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph in 1917, the magazine notably helped strengthen African American intellectual and political identity during the Harlem Renaissance. During 1920, The Messenger featured articles about black culture, publishing a variety of Black writers and highlighting the successes of Blacks in business. The first issue cost fifteen cents and included the mission statement written by Randolph and Owen:
"Our aim is to appeal to reason, to lift our pens above the cringing demagogy of the times, and above the cheap peanut politics of the old reactionary Negro leaders. Patriotism has no appeal to us; justice has. Party has no weight with us; principle has. Loyalty is meaningless; it depends on what one is loyal to. Prayer is not one of our remedies; it depends on what one is praying for. We consider prayer as nothing more than a fervent wish; consequently the merit and worth of a prayer depend upon what the fervent wish is".
The first two years of publication, the magazine focused on Black labor unionism and socialism, as well as denouncing the war and its effects on Black Americans. In the twentieth century, most Blacks were disenfranchised by changes in state laws that raised barriers to voter registration, that excluded them from participating or finding employment in politics, and that allowed increasing violence in the South. However, socialism failed to attract followers in Harlem. By February 1920, The Messenger reorganized itself to identify as “A Journal of Scientific Radicalism.” From this point forward, the magazine increasingly published poetry, stories, and other work by Harlem intellectuals. Becoming highly influential during the Harlem Renaissance, the magazine highlighted a range of new writers such as Zora Neale Hurston. Unfortunately, the looming stock market crash devastated the magazine and in 1928 it folded due to lack of funding.
