June 20 …

The Chicago Bee was an influential African American weekly newspaper that advocated for racial uplift, political engagement, and community advancement in Chicago and the wider Midwest during the interwar and World War II years.

Releasing its first issue on June 20, 1926, the newspaper was founded by Anthony Overton, a prominent Black entrepreneur and banker who owned the Overton Hygienic Manufacturing Company among other ventures. The Bee emerged as a part of Overton’s broader initiative to enhance Black economic strength and establish civic institutions. His leadership facilitated financial backing and a business model that integrated the publication with Black commercial networks and social uplift efforts.

The Bee’s newsroom was staffed with editors and journalists dedicated to covering local politics, business, church life, and social events, while also addressing national civil rights issues. Its pages showcased contributions from community leaders, activists, and clergy, frequently highlighting achievements in Black business, education, and culture. This content played a significant role in fostering a positive civic identity for Chicago’s burgeoning Black population during the Great Migration.

Politically and culturally, the Bee positioned itself as a moderate, community-focused publication that aligned with Republican Party interests throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, even as many Black voters began to shift toward the New Deal coalition. Its primary readership consisted of Black urban residents — middle-class and business-oriented families, along with professionals and entrepreneurs — who relied on the paper for news, advertising, and communal information. It also served as a platform for local campaigns advocating for housing, employment, and anti-lynching measures.

Although The Bee did not achieve the national prominence of some of its contemporaries, it earned respect as a long-lasting local institution under Overton’s stewardship, contributing significantly to Chicago’s civic life and leaving a legacy seen in archival collections and studies of Black urban press history.

Closure of The Chicago Bee in 1947 marked the end of a pivotal era in Chicago’s Black press tradition and in the narrative of journalism backed by Black business interests.