TUSCUMBIA–As layers in the earth’s crust surrender new details of the planet’s age or as skeletal remains predate anything on official record, it calls for reassessment of the origin of humanity. It may also redefine our present and our future, who we really are as individuals, families, a community, and as a nation.

Tom McKnight, left, and Rev. B. J. Bonner hold a recently discovered copy of The American Star. Courtesy photosCarter G. Woodson, the father of Black History Month said, “Truth comes to us from the past, then, like gold, is washed down from the mountains.”

This gold sometimes surfaces when one least expects. For Tuscumbia the gold is the discovery of the existence of numerous copies of an African- American newspaper known as The American Star.

MSMBA was the African- American association for black preachers whose formation was assisted by the Rev. Dr. Josephus Shackelford ca. 1869. Shackelford was the editor of the Tuscumbia Democrat before he sold his business interest to Captain A.H. Keller.

Professor Trenholm was also principal of the first known African-American school referred to in the early 1900s as the Colored School of Tuscumbia.

Reverend B.J. Bonner and his congregation at First Missionary Baptist Church Russellville are responsible for this newly-discovered artifact of historical and genealogical significance. The publication spans the 1940s and 1950s, decades beyond what is registered in the State of Alabama Department of History and Archives, libraries, county archives, and any nationally- recognized resources.

The copies which recently surfaced far exceed what exists on microfilm, which cover little more than a decade (ca. 1901-1912). The discovery bridges the information gap commonly experienced by researchers, genealogists, and history buffs.

Once thought to have only an eleven-year life, these Tuscumbia gold issues cover December 1943, September 1946, April and June 1948, March 1949, and October and December 1950. The American Star was the primary means of communication of the Muscle Shoals Missionary Baptist Association with a circulation serving northwest Alabama that extended beyond state borders.

Weekly contributions by a network of churchbased correspondents kept the community advised of numerous church and local activities, births, deaths, marriages, and other societal events. The historical ingot re-establishing The American Star’s existence well beyond 1912 eventually shifted to Russellville and later to Huntsville.

Tom McKnight, president of the Tennessee Valley Historical Society, came to northwest Alabama in 2004 to research his ancestors. He gained much insight into his family tree through friends and relatives during a marathon drive covering over 14,000 miles in three months. The search included information provided by The American Star.

Wi t h knowledge that other copies of the newspaper are still out there buried in dust- covered shoe boxes in attics and trunks, his appeal is that you contact him or Reverend Bonner at the following numbers: Tom McKnight cell: 1-256- 635-8940 or Rev. B.J. Bonner cell: 1-256-460-1457.

They will arrange to photo shoot the newspaper and leave the original and digitized copy on compact disc with the owner. Therefore, as the quality of the paper deteriorates over time, the owner will have a digital copy to preserve Muscle Shoals Missionary Baptist Association history. This is a win-win situation for all.

As Carter G. Woodson would summarize, “Those who have no record of what their forefathers have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history”.

“The resurrection of The American Star newspapers is a bridge from yesterday to the future,” said Bonner.