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Contribution #349 of 365
Joseph P. Evans
Newspaper and Magazine Retail Entrepreneur
1859–1860s
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Born enslaved in Virginia, Joseph P. Evans purchased his freedom by 1859 and established a print-retail business in Petersburg. During the Civil War era he operated a kiosk selling newspapers and magazines, distributing current information through a city shaped by military and political change. Evans's enterprise represents early Black ownership in news and periodical retail.