Sample Newspaper Research Paper Outline
Thesis: During the 1920s and 1930s, The Pittsburg Courier demonstrates an ambivalent attitude
toward lower class African Americans.
Alternate Thesis: While The Pittsburg Courier demonstrates sympathy toward lower class
African Americans with regard to political matters between 1920 and 1940, they deem African
Americans intellectually and morally suspect and culturally inferior.
Body Section One: The artifacts from the newspaper suggest that The Pittsburg Courier supports
policies and politicians that help poor African Americans.
Body Section Two: Despite their support politically, the newspaper treats the black masses as
though they are morally and intellectually inferior.
Sample Newspaper Research Paper Body Section
Yellow/Critical Topic Sentence
Green/Evidence
Purple/Analysis
Despite their support politically, the newspaper treats the black masses as though they are
morally and intellectually inferior. This is evident in the “Smokey City Streets” crime reports
that reoccur frequently in the 1920s. In this section, Blanch Taylor Dickinson writes brief and
witty descriptions of the weekly crime reports. The December 10, 1928 installment of the crime
reports demonstrates the newspaper’s pejorative view of the poor. While the first entry
humorously explores race, the other three entries clearly criticize the lives of lower class African
Americans. For example, the second entry is about a janitor who commits domestic violence
against his wife. In this entry, Dickinson mocks the wife’s injuries by stating that the husband is
"schooled in scratching--French trenches, maybe" (7). This illustrates that this event is not
serious. Furthermore, the title of this entry—“Janitor No Nurse”— emphasizes his working
class occupation and calls attention to his refusal to care for his child, which is apparently the
reason for the violence. The newspaper wants the readers to associate his moral failings as a
father and husband with his working class occupation. In another report, Dickerson notes that
another woman’s summoning of the police to a raucous house party is due to her own
“lonesomeness” and implies that her annoyance stems from "the general delinquency of her
spouse," who is in attendance at the party (Dickinson 7). The humor that is present in these
stories suggests a dismissive attitude toward lower class African Americans, as if such poor
behavior is not only to be expected but worthy of derision.
The presence of the “Personals” column next to the “Smokey City Streets” column
further illustrates that the newspaper devalued the poor. This “Personals” column includes the
names of members of the African American upper class who have been traveling. It details
where they are from and where they have been or are going. The people mentioned in this
section of the newspaper are addressed according to their title or status, “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” and
“Rev.” (“Personals” 7). This clearly contrasts with the “Smokey City Streets” column in which
the people are identified by their first names. The newspaper’s treatment of these two columns
reveals that they think one of these groups deserves more respect than the other.
“Sunny Boy Sam” is also a recurring element in the paper that demonstrates how the
Pittsburg Courier feels about the poor. The main character in these cartoons is meant to
represent the lower class. He is dressed as a buffoon, with large feet, outlandish pants, gloves,
and a long coat. He has dark skin and white lips that are quite large, reminiscent of the painted
lips of black and white minstrels. Sunny Boy’s appearance reflects clear stereotypes of lower
class African Americans. His appearance indicates a lack of culture and refinement. Also, he
speaks in a very exaggerated African American dialect, which he demonstrates when he says
“Pawden me Jedge” (Holloway 1). His speech signifies his lack of intelligence. The
installment of the series entitled “Why Be Blue? There is Always Another Worse Off Than
You,” published on January 12, 1929, is on the first page, which implies the newspaper’s
acceptance of the class conscious message that the cartoon suggests. In that installment, Sunny
Boy has been arrested because he played “the numbers,” which is common among lower class
African Americans during this time. He greets his sentence of ten years hard labor with laughter,
noting that his small wager got him ten years, but the larger wager of one of his acquaintances
will earn him a hundred year sentence. The fact that he finds his predicament humorous adds to
the idea that, in large part, the African American masses are ignorant and unable to truly
comprehend their plight. Because this cartoon reoccurs in the newspaper during the 1920s and
1930s and because each installment revolves around illegal gambling, the comic strip reflects the
newspaper’s view of the African American lower class. They, like Sunny Boy, evoke pity and
humor.
In addition to the negative view of poor African Americans that is evident in cartoons and
crime reports, the news outlet further asserts the group’s moral and intellectual inferiority
through editorials. George Schuyler was a fixture of the paper’s editorial pages throughout the
1920s and 1930s. Unlike other editorials in the section, his pieces are signed, which suggest that
he is employed by the newspaper and is not simply a member of the community. In his regular
column called “Views and Reviews,” he gives advice to the African American community and
comments on current events. On March 1, 1930, he details his travels throughout the southern
part of the United Stated. Of African Americans, he notes “After visiting a few towns you find
the Negro such a pathetic creature that you have to laugh to keep from crying. Here and there
you will find glimmerings of intelligence and a trace of courage, but generally speaking the
darkest brethren are frittering away their time at card games” (Schuyler 10). The reference to
card games, like the frequent discussion of “the numbers” in the “Sunny Boy Sam” cartoon
series, is clearly intended to suggest that Schuyler is caricaturing lower class African Americans.
Gambling was a vice associated with people with less economic stability. Furthermore, he
openly questions the intelligence of this group, and his claim about the absence of courage
suggests a moral failing in the poor.
Schuyler further makes this view clear when he asserts “Strange how much you can tell
about people just by appearances. . . . If a person is dirty, smelly, ragged and unkempt, I think he
should be judged accordingly” (10). He is referring to some of the African Americans who he
met on his journey. Since this is an African American newspaper, it is logical to assume that
Schuyler does not believe that all African American reflect those qualities. However, he seems
to equate personal worth with physical appearance and attributes related to socioeconomic status.
This trend continues in Schuyler’s “News and Reviews” column. Though the views of editorials
cannot always be attributed to the news organization that publishes them, there are several facts
that suggest that the Pittsburg Courier agrees with the views that Schuyler expresses. Most of
his editorials are relatively lengthy, in comparison to the others on the page. Also, there are
frequently no other editorials placed near this column that express views that counter his harsh
and negative view of poor African Americans. Thus, these editorials along with the cartoons and
crime reports suggest that the black masses are intellectually and ethically questionable.