John Brown Russwurm

• Born: October 1, 1799
• Birthplace: Port Antonio, Jamaica
• Died: June 17, 1851
• Place of death: Cape Palmas, Maryland in Africa (now in Liberia)

Journalist and abolitionist

Russwurm was the coeditor of the first African American newspaper in America. The abolitionist publication provided one of the first forums in which African American writers were allowed to express their perspective on black life and culture. It also was revolutionary for African Americans to see members of their race represented in their own words in mass media.

Early Life

John Brown Russwurm was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, to a white man and his black servant. Historical records do not make it clear whether Russwurm was born a slave or free. He originally was only given his mother’s name and known as John Brown. His father later married Susan Blanchard, a white woman who was very supportive of the child and insisted that he take his father’s surname, Russwurm. Russwurm remained very close to his stepmother even after his father’s death.

In 1812, Russwurm moved to Maine with his father. He was educated at Hebron Academy and later taught at a school for African American children in Boston. Russwurm attended Bowdoin College, where he became its first African American graduate in 1826 and one of the first African Americans to graduate from any American college. He also was the first African American to be accepted into a college fraternity. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Bowdoin.

Russwurm’s work took him from America to Africa, and on that journey he met his wife, Sarah McGill. Her father was the lieutenant governor of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. The couple had three sons and a daughter. Russwurm’s stepmother also cared for his sons while they were educated in America.

Life’s Work

After graduating from college, Russwurm moved to New York to work as a teacher. He also became very involved in the abolitionist movement. He was well respected among free African Americans in New York. He and a fellow abolitionist, a minister named Samuel Cornish, decided to dedicate a print publication to their cause. In March of 1827, the first issue of Freedom’s Journal was published in New York. On July 4 of the same year, slavery was abolished in the state.

Freedom’s Journal is an important part of journalism history and the history of the ethnic press. Russwurm—a teacher, scholar, and gifted orator—served as the junior editor and reported the concerns of African Americans in the New York area. The newspaper was filled with stories about prominent members of the African American community. The publishers made a special effort to keep people abreast of important issues and current events, especially those related to the abolitionist movement and the fate of the slaves even after they were freed.

Freedom’s Journal was circulated in the United States, England, Canada, and Haiti. At the time, the American Colonization Society (ACS) was encouraging black Americans to move to Liberia and live a life in which race would not be a factor. Originally, the publication opposed that movement and instead encouraged African Americans to make America their home.

By 1828, Cornish had turned the publication over to Russwurm. Around that time, Russwurm was becoming disenchanted with life in America and began to support the ACS’s ideals. He wanted African Americans to no longer be oppressed by whites. His new beliefs were reflected in Freedom’s Journal and, as a result, Russwurm and the publication became quite unpopular with some readers. He stepped down from his role as editor, and Freedom’s Journal folded in 1829. It had published a total of 103 issues from 1827 to 1829. Cornish later attempted to revive the publication under a new name, The Rights of All. That publication was short-lived.

Russwurm moved to Liberia and founded a new publication, The Liberia Herald, which had a special focus on education. In 1836, he became governor of the Maryland colony in Liberia. He recruited many former slaves living in America to come to the colony. After his death, the colony eventually became part of the independent Republic of Liberia. A memorial was erected there in Russwurm’s honor.

Significance

Russwurm played a major role in two major movements of the nineteenth century: abolitionism and the first back-to-Africa movement. His change of heart on Liberian colonization reflected many African Americans’ frustrations with the state of race relations in America, even in states where slavery had been outlawed. A pioneer in American journalism, he was one of the first to create a national publication by and for African Americans. Freedom’s Journal is often credited with helping lead the way to the abolition of slavery.

Bibliography

Beyon, Amos J. African American Settlements in West Africa: John Brown Russwurm and the American Civilizing Efforts. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Detailed study of Russwurm’s life in Liberia.

James, Winston. The Struggles of John Brown Russwurm: The Life and Writings of a Pan-Africanist Pioneer, 1799-1851. New York: New York University Press, 2010. Brief history of Russwurm’s career with a compilation of his writings.

Shick, Tom W. Behold the Promised Land: The History of Afro-American Settler Society in Nineteenth-Century Liberia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980. Examination of the Liberian experience from the point of view of the Americo-Liberian settlers, examining their political and religious motivations as well as the social patterns that characterized early Liberia.