The Carolina Times was founded as The Standard Advertiser in 1921 by Charles Arrant, who was killed in 1922. In 1927 the newspaper was purchased by North Carolina Central University alumnus Louis Austin in Durham, North Carolina. The paper continues to be published today by Austin's grandson, Kenneth Edmonds, and is the only black-owned and operated newspaper in Durham.
Austin edited and published The Carolina Times from 1927 until his death in 1971. The paper's motto was: "The Truth Unbridled." Austin used the paper to publicize racial inequities and to fight for racial equality in North Carolina and throughout the United States. In fact, The Carolina Times served as the campaign headquarters for the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs (DCNA), which was later renamed the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. One notable success that Louis E. Austin had in his fight for equality (of many) was the arrest and conviction of a police officer who assaulted an African-American man. The officer would have not been reprimanded for his actions without the vocal support of The Carolina Times, as well as the efforts of the DCNA.
On January 14, 1979, the building that housed The Carolina Times was burned to the ground; little survived the blaze, and their entire back stock of papers was destroyed. The authorities suspected that it was arson. However, the editor at the time, Mrs. Vivian A. Edmonds, Austin's daughter, continued the paper's publication, and had a new issue out that Thursday.
References
External links
- Historic Issues of The Carolina Times
