doi:10.7916/d8-zf1k-nh64Oral history interview with Russell J. Cowans, 1971Cowans, Russell Joral historiesmixed materialJournalistsSportswritersAfrican American pressAfrican American journalistsAfrican American sportswritersAfrican Americans--Civil rightsChicago (Ill.)Detroit (Mich.)United States Race relationsCowans, Russell JChicago defenderIn this interview, Cowans discusses his education and the jobs he held before becoming a newspaperman. He shares memories of racism he experienced at sporting events and the psychological affect journalism had on him. More generally, he details: the successes of the black press and the impact it has had on race relations in America; the treatment of minority news by the white press; the possible future of the black press; and the differences between the black press in the North and the black press in the South.