March 19, 1870

The Arkansas Freeman began printing again after the Reverend Tabbs Gross, the owner and editor, regained the paper from James C. Akers, a news correspondent from the Cincinnati Commercial and former assistant editor of the Colored Citizen. Moving to Little Rock, Akers had literally taken possession of the Freeman, stating that he had purchased the paper from Gross in Memphis. The Arkansas Freeman, which began publication in 1869, was the first newspaper in Arkansas printed by an African American and focusing upon the black community. It was in publication for less than one year, having become symptomatic of the divisions within the Republican Party, particularly where African Americans were involved.