The Colored Cooperative Publishing Company was founded in May of 1900 by Walter William, Harper Fortune, Jessie Watkins, and either Peter Gibson or Walter Alexander Johnson [6 and 7 respectivly, sources differ]. All of the founders came from Virginia to Boston, a place that was (and is) known for its educational, medical, scientific, and cultural communities [7, 2]. Its headquarters were located at 232 West Canton Street, Boston, Massachusetts [4]. The founders wanted to provide a space for and produce politically, racially, and mentally charged material. The company's initial focus was on producing a monthly periodical, but it rapidly expanded its interest to books as well [7].
While the reasoning behind the name "Colored Cooperative Publishing Company" can obviously be attributed to the fact that the publishing company was owned by African Americans (Colored), because it operated as a co-operative company (Cooperative), and because it produced written work (Publishing) [7]. However, one author also argued that another meaning of the word "cooperative" could be the fact that the company flourished by partnering with blacks and whites to produce its material as well as by appealing to both white and black readership [7]. An important white contributor to the publishing company is Reuben S. Elliot, who played an integral role in helping the company move to book publishing [7]. Elliot also penned an extensive history of The Colored American Magazine, which is considered to be the Colored Cooperative Publishing Company's most successful publication [7]. One author also cited a letter from a white subscriber to the magazine who questioned its portrayal of interracial marriage, which spurred a dialogue between her and the editor [5]. In other words, the company's publication provided a forum for discussions on race for its mixed readership.
The Colored Cooperative Publishing Company's first issue of The Colored American Magazine came out in May 1900 and was widely distributed to black communities throughout the United States [6]. The editor for the magazine was Pauline Hopkins, a black female intellectual whose work was also published throughout the magazine. Her books Hagar’s Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice, Winona: A Tale of Negro Life in the South and Southwest, and Of One Blood; Or, The Hidden Self were all published serially in the magazine [1]. The first and only book that the company published was also by Hopkins: Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life, North and South. It was also widely read. In 1902, the company released a publisher's announcement saying that both the magazine and the book were doing extremely well and that the company planned on expanding [7].
In 1902, the company released a publisher's announcement saying that both the magazine and the book were doing extremely well and that the company planned on expanding [7]. The plan for expansion, however, never came to fruition. By the middle of 1903, Fred Moore had bought The Colored American Magazine and relocated it to New York City, where it continued to be published until 1909 [6]. Fred Moore was the agent of Booker T. Washington, who had ideological differences with Pauline Hopkins. Some articles surmise that those ideological differences were the motivation behind Washington and his agent taking over and move the magazine [7]. Shortly thereafter, The Colored Cooperative Publishing Company disbanded due to financial difficulties; this, too, has been connected to one of Washington's benefactors, John Freund [7].
