The Editorial Conservatism of the Atlanta Dagy World and the Politics of School Prayer.

This article examines the Atlanta Daily World's conservative editorial stance on school prayer and broader political issues within Atlanta's Black community during the mid-to-late twentieth century, particularly under editor C.A. Scott. As Georgia's oldest and largest Black newspaper, the Daily World diverged from the predominantly left-leaning Black press by endorsing Republican politicians, opposing civil rights protests, and advocating for the reinstitution of prayer in public schools, aligning with White evangelical conservative positions while framing these issues through concerns about social stability and Black religiosity. The paper's support for school prayer intensified in the 1980s amid the rise of the Religious Right and debates over constitutional amendments, reflecting a unique Black conservative ideology that combined religious and social concerns distinct from mainstream White conservatism. This study contributes to scholarship on the intersection of Black newspapers, religion, and conservatism, highlighting the Daily World's role in shaping political discourse in Atlanta's Black community before its editorial shift toward progressive politics in the late 1990s under C.A. Scott's granddaughter.