Published by Commission on Interracial Cooperation (CIC), The Southern Frontier was a monthly newsletter, first issued in January, 1940. Aiming to share the stories overlooked by traditional newspapers, the newsletter published stories of social progress, as well as stories of racial injustices faced by African Americans across the American South.
As described by then President of the CIC Howard W. Odum, the name
The Southern Frontier alludes to the need for even greater pioneering and progress in the social and cultural frontiers, the American South being the most turbulent field in reference to race relations and progress at the time.
Vol. 2, No. 1 contains contributions by:
J. W. Haywood
Selected articles are:
“The South Has a `Bottleneck’” – An article describing the South as an environment common with incidents of governmental discrimination towards black citizens, as well as acts of goodwill on the parts of individual white citizens, but that are in turn done in silence or in secrecy to avoid backlash from governing or administrating entities.
“Negro Soldiers Want White Commander” – An article describing a case in which a platoon of black soldiers holding resentment over being assigned a black commander. The article provides analysis of this story, one from a white southerner perspective, the other from a black southerner perspective.
"Negroes Enter Army Aviation" discusses the formation of the
Tuskegee Airmen. The article notes that the (Negro) National Airmen's Association opposes segregation in the military.