The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), was founded in 1940 when John H. Sengstacke of the Chicago Defender organized a meeting with other African American publishers designed for "harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism." The group decided to form the National Negro Publishers Association. In 1956 the trade association was renamed the National Newspapers Publishers Association.
Today the NNPA is composed of more than 200 black newspapers in the United States and the Virgin Islands. They have a combined readership of 15 million and the organization has created an electronic news service, BlackPressUsa web site, which enables newspapers to provide real time news and information to its national constituency.