Written Interview by Brady Baylis, 04/28/2023

"The Complicated Role of Black Journalism in the 1863 Civil Draft Riots"

War is often a prism through which one can understand the values, ideals, and beliefs of a society. During moments of a nation’s existential crisis, national emotions are expressed through protest, political violence, and political expressions, including journalism and art. This was the case in the Union North during the American Civil War. In July 1863, New York City exploded into protest and riot as a result of Civil War drafts. While there was a tense political dimension, Anna Harvey explores how African Americans became a target of violence and, through this violence, they used Black journals and newspapers as a prism to show their emotions, fears, and humanity. 

Anna Harvey, a History and English major, explored the Civil War Draft Riots in a History junior seminar class titled “Protest, Riot & Violence in US Political History”. “While my research initially focuses on the violence--specifically the racial violence--from the 1863 New York City draft riots,” Harvey explained”, it gradually shifts to focus on the responses from mainstream newspapers and Black-owned publications. After reading my overview of this historic event and the subsequent news coverage, I hope readers can appreciate how the 19th-century press had a direct impact on shaping the public memory of historic events and had an active role in defining what it meant to be an American, particularly for those who were excluded from citizenship.”

Harvey, who concluded her undergraduate career in December 2022, explored the media landscape in the wake of the Draft Riots. She discovered that a majority of newspapers ignored racially based violence, leaving many victims without justice. Black journalists, however, regularly reported on hate crimes and used their platform to condemn injustice. Although African American journalists brought racial violence to a broader audience, Harvey argues that “Their ideal of pursuing liberty in the face of tyranny, however, while deeply rooted in American founding values, did not allow many Black writers to express resentment toward the injustices wrought by the draft riots.” These journalists, by reflecting on the recent violence, began to call for citizenship and acceptance in broader American society, although their hope and rights would be ignored for well over another century. 

Researching racism and racial violence in American history demands careful research and sensitivity: “The research process involved me constantly rethinking and reanalyzing my approach on this topic.” Harvey said, “I kept thinking to myself, ‘What is my goal? How can I present the complicated thoughts and musings of the developing Black journalist community in a respectful and accurate manner?’”

Anna Harvey’s research process appeared daunting.  “The amount of imposter syndrome I felt while writing this paper was sometimes intense,” Harvey said, “but with the advice and encouragement of my junior thesis professor, Dr. Stephen West, I was able to work through my worries and step outside of my comfort zone to find good sources for my topic.” Physically, the research process brought her to the Library of Congress’s stunning reading rooms while she temporally visited New York City one hundred and fifty years ago. Harvey reflects that these journeys were “...fruitful not only for my research but also for my own development as a researcher and writer. 

The prism’s light, shining from 1863 New York, is largely shadowed by violence and hate crimes. The Black perspective on this violence was overshadowed by this violence, but modern historians have begun to focus on the full spectrum of the prism’s light, not just the long-held narratives about the riots. In her article, Harvey explores these underrepresented narratives and highlights how the Black community reflected on trauma with calls for citizenship and encouragement. Harvey concludes that: “This complicated, uneasy, yet bold narrative indicates that Black publications may have had so much more to say on the realities of race, politics, and the Union during the Civil War, yet for the time being, this reality will remain unspoken.”

Read Anna's article, "The Complicated Role of Black Journalism in the 1863 Civil Draft Riots" in Inventio's Volume 8!