Alabama Heritage is the state's only quarterly history magazine since 1986.
02/17/2025
Noted singer Amelia L. Tilghman lived in Montgomery for a short time in the mid-1880s, teaching music. Tilghman was known as a musician, journalist, and premier singer (in 1881 she was the prima donna soprano of the Sängerfest in Louisville, Kentucky). While in Montgomery, Tilghman began to publish Musical Messenger, a monthly newspaper which probably first appeared in the fall of 1886. With the paper's debut, she became the first editor of a periodical dedicated to African American music and musicians. The publication circulated widely, especially in the eastern half of the United States. As an editor, Tilghman solicited essays and news items from veteran female journalists of her day. Issues of the Musical Messenger also included poetry—some written by Tilghman—along with articles on matters of political and social significance to African Americans, including employment, education, and racial discrimination. The Musical Messenger also featured short articles on the activities of Black concert artists and excerpts from recent compositions and arrangements by Black composers. The newspaper carried small advertisements for music teachers and notices of concerts to be given in Black communities. In 1888, Tilghman temporarily suspended publication of the Musical Messenger and left Montgomery to accept a teaching appointment at Howe Institute in New Iberia, Louisiana. Not long after her arrival there, she return to Washington, D.C., to help care for her ailing mother. She resumed publishing the Musical Messenger until around 1891. In a broad context, Tilghman made significant contributions to the musical history of African Americans after Reconstruction. Her work as an editor helped establish an enduring format for subsequent music reporting within Black communities. Click here to read the EOA article: https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/amelia-tilghman/
