Newspaper Publisher. He was the editor and founder of the popular African-American newspaper the "Chicago Defender" (May 5, 1905), considered by many to be the most influential black newspaper ever printed. However, he is better known as a racial crusader than writer. The paper he founded in with an initial investment of 25 cents later became the most prominent black newspaper in the history of Illinois and the United States, starting with 300 copies at 25 cents each to the paper reaching a circulation of 230,000 nationally. Abbott's campaign through the paper persuaded thousands of African-Americans to move to Chicago, Illinois from the segregated South from 1915 to 1925 was known as the "Great Migration"; it later transformed the city. Dubbed "The World's Greatest Weekly," his newspaper soon became the most widely circulated African-American newspaper in the country and made him one of the first self-made millionaires of African-American descent. He died of Bright's disease in 1940., and left the paper in control of his heir and nephew, John Henry Sengstacke, who served as publisher until his death in May 1997. The Chicago "Defender" is still today widely circulated around the country.
Newspaper Publisher. He was the editor and founder of the popular African-American newspaper the "Chicago Defender" (May 5, 1905), considered by many to be the most influential black newspaper ever printed. However, he is better known as a racial crusader than writer. The paper he founded in with an initial investment of 25 cents later became the most prominent black newspaper in the history of Illinois and the United States, starting with 300 copies at 25 cents each to the paper reaching a circulation of 230,000 nationally. Abbott's campaign through the paper persuaded thousands of African-Americans to move to Chicago, Illinois from the segregated South from 1915 to 1925 was known as the "Great Migration"; it later transformed the city. Dubbed "The World's Greatest Weekly," his newspaper soon became the most widely circulated African-American newspaper in the country and made him one of the first self-made millionaires of African-American descent. He died of Bright's disease in 1940., and left the paper in control of his heir and nephew, John Henry Sengstacke, who served as publisher until his death in May 1997. The Chicago "Defender" is still today widely circulated around the country.
Bio by: Curtis Jackson
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