The Colored Radical was the first black newspaper in the state of Kansas, published jointly in Lawrence and Leavenworth.

[2] It was first published on August 24, 1876,[1] in the aftermath of the Emancipation Proclamation and the subsequent flight of black people out of the American South into Kansas.

[1] It was staunchly anti-segregation, criticizing the existence of a bipartite educational system, where white and black children would attend separate schools.

[5] Although it was at times critical in tone, it also provided optimistic news for black Kansans, and urged them to become self-reliant through property acquisitions and maintenance.

[1] Two years following its closure, W. L. Eagleson established a black newspaper in Fort Scott, then later Topeka, called the Colored Citizen.