Baltimore Afro-American

The Afro-American

The Afro Building on North Charles Street
Type	Weekly
Format	Broadsheet (full page)
Publisher	John J. Oliver Jr.
Editor	Kamau High, Managing Editor
Founded	1892
Headquarters	2519 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218 USA
Website	www.afro.com

The Baltimore Afro-American, commonly known as The Afro, is a weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It is the flagship newspaper of the Afro-American chain and the longest-running African-American family-owned newspaper in the United States, established in 1892 by John H. Murphy, Sr.

The newspaper was founded in 1892 by John H. Murphy, Sr., who was born into slavery and served in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops, reaching the rank of sergeant (NCO). He worked a variety of jobs after the war. Active with the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, a denomination founded in the early 19th century in Philadelphia as the first independent black religion in the United States, Murphy merged his church publication, The Sunday School Helper, with two other church publications, The Ledger and The Afro-American. With The Afro-American, Murphy promoted unity in the black community of Baltimore, as well as combating racial discrimination in the city and working for children's education. "He crusaded for racial justice while exposing racism in education, jobs, housing, and public accommodations. In 1913, he was elected president of the National Negro Press Association."

The publication began to grow to reach more cities and to rise in national prominence after his son Carl J. Murphy took control in 1922, serving as its editor for 45 years. He expanded the paper to have nine national editions, with papers published in 13 major cities. At its peak, the paper published two weekly editions in Baltimore and regional weekly editions in cities including Washington, DC; Philadelphia; Richmond, Virginia; and Newark, New Jersey, the latter a destination northern city for many blacks from the rural South during the Great Migration to the North in the first half of the 20th century. In the early 21st century, the Afro-American has two city editions: one in Baltimore, and the other for Washington, D.C.

Both John H. Murphy, Sr. and his son Carl J. Murphy have been posthumously inducted into the MDDC Press Association's Hall of Fame in recognition of their contributions to journalism and publishing, in 2008 and 2015, respectively.