GALVESTON SPECTATOR. The Galveston Spectator, the earliest newspaper in the state published under black proprietorship and management, was established by Richard Nelson in 1873. It generally appeared as a weekly paper, although at times Nelson brought it out more frequently. The Spectator supported the Republican party and urged blacks to pursue education and participate in public affairs. Its circulation apparently peaked at about 1,000 in 1876 but usually stood nearer 500. The last issue appeared in 1885; the paper was discontinued because of financial problems.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Charles William Grose, Black Newspapers in Texas, 1868-1970 (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, 1972 Irvine Garland Penn, The Afro-American Press and Its Editors (Springfield, Massachusetts: Willey, 1891; rpt., New York: Arno, 1969 Henry Lewis Suggs, ed., The Black Press in the South, 1865-1979 (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1983).
