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About The Illinois times. (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-19??
Champaign, Ill. (19??-19??)

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Title:
The Illinois times. : (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-19??
Place of publication:
Champaign, Ill.
Geographic coverage:
  • Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois  |  View more titles from this: City County, State
Publisher:
Edgar G. Harris
Dates of publication:
19??-19??
Frequency:
Semimonthly Dec. 20, 1952-<June 29, 1967>
Language:
  • English
Subjects:
  • African American newspapers--fast--(OCoLC)fst00799278
  • African American newspapers--Illinois--Champaign County--Champaign.
  • African Americans--Illinois--Newspapers.
  • African Americans.--fast--(OCoLC)fst00799558
  • Champaign (Ill.)--Newspapers.
  • Champaign County (Ill.)--Newspapers.
  • Illinois--Champaign County--fast--(OCoLC)fst01208069
  • Illinois--Champaign.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01207150
  • Illinois--Newspapers.
  • Illinois.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01205143
Notes:
  • Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • Description based on: Vol. 45, no. 18 (Oct. 14, 1949).
  • Latest issue consulted: Vol. 21, no. 12 (June 29, 1967).
  • Volume and numbering vary.
LCCN:
sn 88061252
OCLC:
18609544
ISSN:
2694-1155
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The Illinois times. October 14, 1949 , Image 1

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The Illinois Times

The Champaign Illinois Times was a weekly newspaper, usually issued on Fridays, thought to have run from 1949 to around 1971. The paper began publication in Danville, Illinois, but was moved to Champaign, Illinois at some point. Its founding editor and publisher was Edgar G. Harris. Mrs. Blanche Jamerson Harris, his wife, was actively involved in the paper too, acting as the city editor and manager of circulation. The Harrises were members of the Bahá'í faith. According to an obituary in the May 20, 1975 issue of the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Harris was also a well-known Black educator, a member of the Education Board of the Champaign Unit 4 School District, and founded a newspaper in North Carolina. According to her obituary in the July 17, 1987 issue of the News-Gazette, Blanche Jamerson Harris was born August 26, 1898 in Champaign and was the daughter of Mr. Andrew and Nannie Ross Jamerson. Scholar Raymond Bial writes that from about 1949 to 1967, the couple published the newspaper out of their home.

The October 14, 1949 issue stated the paper's platform through a numbered list of priorities: "1. Sidewalks and pavements for all sections of our cities; 2. Better sanitation conditions in our cities; 3. End segregation and discrimination in public places; 4. Make Illinois the finest State in which to live." The platform remained the same through 1963. Accordingly, the paper covered news on urban development in Champaign County, Illinois including progress reports on various construction projects like the expansion of the Lawhead School, the Bradley Homes public housing project, and the development of Carver Park. The paper's editorials provided political commentary, highlighted positive contributions to the community, and advocated for the social progress of African Americans.

News coverage included a front-page section dedicated to local news in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana, but the paper also covered regional and national news, especially news related to the fight for civil rights and against Jim Crow policies. Local news coverage included weddings, deaths, illnesses, community social events, and travel. The paper also provided news for and about the Bahá'í community in Champaign-Urbana. Articles appeared on the activities of local organizations as well, including the Elks Lodge, the Champaign County Urban League, and the Royalettes Club—a women's civic club dedicated to community improvement. The paper included ample advertisements for businesses, both in the Champaign-Urbana area and in other cities in central Illinois, such as Danville and Bloomington.

Provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL