(Soundbite of music)
Unidentified Man: (Singing) But ain't you glad...
Backup Singers: (Singing) Ain't that news.
ED GORDON, host:
The Chicago Defender printed its first edition 100 years ago today. The black-owned daily became an institution in African-American communities, circulating more than 200 copies a day throughout the North and the South. Its contributors included a who's who of black Americans in journalism and literature: W.E.B. DuBois, Ida B. Wells, Walter White and Langston Hughes. The paper's circulation has declined over the years, but it remains an important source for what's happening in black America, so we wish a happy centennial to The Chicago Defender.
(Soundbite of music)
Backup Singers: (Singing) Good news.
Unidentified Man: (Singing) That's good news.
Backup Signers: (Singing) Good news.
GORDON: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
