The People's Advocate was among the first weekly African American owned and operated newspapers in the state of Virginia.
It was considered as an alternative to the often-biased news coverage of the dominant white conservative papers of the region such as the Alexandria Gazette.
It was also funded and supported by the local Republican clubs in the city of Alexandria including the 4th Ward Republican Club[6] Across the state, it received high praise for its coverage of issues pertinent to Black Virginians and for its elevated discussions of those issues.
John Cromwell moved operations to Washington D.C. in 1878 and continued to serve the African American communities of DC until at least 1891.
[7] The following is a quote from an early publication of The People’s Advocate: "Now that the pistol and bowie knife have begun again their murderous work in Mississippi and Louisiana, we may expect again to see the independent press crammed with sensational and unreliable stories about the general uprising of the Negroes to exterminate the whites.