CHAPTER XXIII.
COLORED EDITORS AND JOURNALISTS.
There are published in the United States to-day between 250 and 300 newspapers and periodicals devoted to the interests of the colored people. The prices of these, compared with the many other articles of luxury for which they pay so freely, are ridiculously low; and yet no field of labor for educated men and women of the race is so perplexing and encumbered with so many difficulties.
But among those who have made a success of journalism are the men and women mentioned in this chapter.
T. THOMAS FORTUNE.
Mr. T. Thomas Fortune, the best-known journalist, both among white and colored people, is really the pioneer among the colored journalists of the United States. He has labored as an editorial writer on the New York Sun for a great many years, and he is the only colored man whose opinions on important questions are published at length in white newspapers. His work on the Times-Herald, of Chicago, Ill., and other great dailies, has been the most creditable, and has been the subject of more liberal discussion than that of any other writer.
T. THOMAS FORTUNE.
Mr. Fortune's stand for right and justice to all classes of American citizens has endeared him to every man and woman who appreciates fair play. He is in Negro journalism what Charles Dana, Esq., is to white journalism—a leader. He has been publishing the New York Age for a great many years, and that paper is recognized to-day as the official organ of the colored people. Wherever Mr. Fortune goes he is always sought out by the leading newspaper and professional men and accorded a royal reception. I regard him as the most valuable man in his line living to-day.
E. E. COOPER.
Edward Elder Cooper is a man of Southern birth, full of vim, energy, enterprise and pluck. He is the founder of the Indianapolis Freeman, which attained a national reputation under his skilful management some years ago. He removed to Washington, D.C., in 1892, after disposing of his interest in the Freeman, where he established the Colored American, an eight-page illustrated newspaper. Mr. Cooper's strong point is as a business manager. He has had phenomenal success with the Colored American, among the solid business men of Washington, who know it as a safe, reliable and useful advertising medium. One of the great features of the Colored American is its portraits of eminent Negroes, which it publishes from week to week; this feature is a big card for the paper and is greatly appreciated by the masses. The Colored American is national in its scope and work and publishes the news from every section of the country. A competent force of Negro compositors and correspondents, which include some of the best writers among the race, make the Colored American a very desirable and welcome weekly visitor in the homes of thousands of the best people of both races.
E. E. COOPER.
Mr. Cooper is comparatively a young man; he is not yet forty. He has, through his paper, popularized more struggling Negroes, who have been hitherto unknown, than any other publisher of a race paper. The subscription to the Colored American is two dollars per annum. It is published at 829 7th street N. W., Washington, D. C., in one of the most central business locations in the capital city. In connection with his newspaper, Mr. Cooper keeps on sale at his counting-room all of the most prominent Negro journals published, and has also undertaken to cater to the wants of those desiring Negro literature. All the latest books, pamphlets, public addresses of colored authors, writers and speakers can be obtained from the Colored American office on application. And there are many good books by Negro authors and by others friendly to the race which may be found on his shelves. This paper recently issued a mammoth edition of 50,000 copies which is said to be the largest edition ever issued by a Negro publisher. Mr. Cooper is popular with the members of the profession, and never hesitates to lend a helping hand to his struggling brethren of the press. He is a genial, open-hearted, open-handed, rollicking good fellow, who makes friends easily and who knows how to keep them. He exercises a sort of hypnotic influence over prospective advertisers who generally come his way. The American is strictly a newspaper in the broader sense of the term newspaper, and is conscientiously devoted to the moral and material uplifting and advancement of the race whose necessities have called it into being. He deserves great credit for his courage and his unyielding faith in the possibilities of Negro journalism; and he will, in the future, command the admiration of his race, which has now but small appreciation for the sacrifices, and self-denial, of the brave men who fight its battles through the media of the Negro press of the country.
PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH, LL. D.
Prof. Scarborough is the most distinguished scholar of the race to-day. His experience in teaching has been large and varied. Clear in explanation, polished in language and bearing, profound in scholarship, always the perfect gentleman, he has impressed himself upon many young minds as few young men have been able to do. Add to these characteristics a most laudable ambition, an unflinching steadfastness of purpose, unwavering uprightness and straightforward devotion to principle, and we find wherein lies the power which has enabled him to attain the heights and win the fame which is undeniably his. But his has not been the mere routine of a teacher's life; he has been an incessant student, an indefatigable worker. During 1880 he prepared his "First Lessons in Greek," which was published by A. S. Barnes & Co., in June, 1881. This book, the first of the kind ever written by a colored man, has received the highest encomiums from the press, while its merits have been recognized and acknowledged by some of the finest scholars in the land. It has also received the most practical recognition—that of adoption—by schools and colleges, both white and colored.
PROF. W. S. SCARBOROUGH, LL. D.
Mr. Scarborough is a regular contributor to Harper's Magazine, the Forum, and the North American Review.
REV. H. T. JOHNSON, D. D., PH. D.
Rev. Henry Theodore Johnson was born at Georgetown, S. C., October 10, 1857.
His early life was spent in the public schools of his native town until his fourteenth year.
He has attended the State Normal School at Columbia, the South Carolina University, Howard University at Washington, D. C., and Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
His "Elements of Psychic Philosophy," a clear cut but brief treatise on mental science, and his "How to Get On," an admirably written and highly instructive series of essays, are two of his books. Having been called to the chair of mental and moral philosophy by the trustees of Allen University in South Carolina, he taught but a short time, when he resigned for a more inviting field in Tennessee. Under the auspices of his church, he here founded the institution known as Slater College. In connection with his school presidency, he was presiding elder of a large district for three years.
REV. H. T. JOHNSON, D. D., PH. D.
His "Divine Logos" was written and published in 1891. As a unique Christological treatise it was spoken of in the highest terms. Some idea of the recognized ability of Dr. Johnson is indicated by his having been clothed with the editorial responsibility of the leading organ of his church and race at the session of the General Conference in May, 1892. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy was conferred on him by Paul Quinn College, while that of Doctor of Divinity was granted by Wilberforce University. Dr. Johnson has already exerted an abiding influence upon his race.
REV. J. W. SMITH.
Rev. J. W. Smith was elected at the last General Conference of the A. M. E. Zion Church, which met in Mobile, Ala., in May, 1896, as the Editor of the Star of Zion, which is the official organ of the church. As a writer Mr. Smith is an able one, and I am sure that the general feeling is that a wiser choice could not have been made. The paper is published at Charlotte, N. C., where the Zion Church owns a splendid property known as their publishing department. I have known Rev. Smith for years, and I am glad for the good of the connection that he has been chosen as their editor.
He succeeds Rev. Geo. W. Clinton, D. D., who was elected to the Bishopric at the last General Conference.
WM. H. STEWART.
Wm. H. Stewart is a native of Louisville, Ky. He has always taken an active part in all public affairs, and is an active member of the Baptist Church. He is the superintendent of the Sunday-school of the 5th Street Baptist Church and leader of its choir, which is one of the best in the country. Mr. Stewart is chairman of Board of Trustees of State University, located in Louisville, Ky., and is secretary of the National Baptist Convention; he has held this position for many years.
WM. H. STEWART.
Mr. Stewart also has charge of the Sunday-school work of the State, for the American Baptist Publication Society of Philadelphia. He is manager and publisher of the American Baptist, which is the oldest and most extensively circulated newspaper in the denomination. Mr. Stewart holds other useful places, where he is helpful to the race. He owns a beautiful home, and has some very refined and cultured children. His daughters, at least two of them, have taken a course in art, and they paint beautifully; most of the fine paintings in his home were painted by them.
L. J. COPPIN.
Rev. L. J. Coppin, D. D., who for eight years was editor of the A. M. E. Church Review, is a bright literary light. He is the author of quite a number of interesting books. The following are the titles of some of them: "The Sunday School: Its Work and How to Do it;" "In Memoriam: Katie S. Campbell Beckett;" "The Relation of Baptized Children to the Church," and a "Key to Scriptural Interpretation."
REV. L. J. COPPIN, D. D.
Rev. Coppin is a graduate of the P. E. Divinity School of Philadelphia, Pa. He was elected editor of the A. M. E. Church Review in May, 1888, and re-elected in 1892. The work has been admirably done under his editorship. He now gives way to his successor, Prof. H. T. Kealing, B. S., A. M., who was elected at the last General Conference.
WILLIAM H. ANDERSON.
Mr. Anderson is one of the bright literary lights among the young men of the race. His work, with that of Mr. Stowers, a novel, entitled "Appointed," is a very creditable showing of his ability as a writer. His first work as a writer was done when he was employed as the mailing clerk of the Detroit Free Press. After his graduation from the city high school he entered the employ of Newcomb, Endicott & Co., to carry parcels. He has been working for this company ever since. He now has charge of the books and credits for the carpet department of Newcomb, Endicott & Co. No goods come into his department unless checked by him and none go out without his signature.
W. H. ANDERSON.
Mr. Anderson's editorials, written for the Plaindealer on social and economic questions, were read with great interest. He was also a part owner of the Plaindealer, which was a magnificent paper.
J. E. BRUCE.
John Edward Bruce (Bruce Grit) was born a slave in the State of Maryland. He attended school in the District of Columbia, at the close of the war, for a period of three months, when he became a student in the University of Adversity, where he acquired distinction as a racy and trenchant writer. He has been a regular contributor to newspapers and special correspondent since 1874.
J. E. BRUCE.
He is the author of a well-written pamphlet, entitled "The Blot on the Escutcheon," which treats of the lynching evil in the South. Has written numerous short stories for race papers, more or less meritorious, and which show him to have the journalistic instinct. He has a larger acquaintance with public men than any other Negro newspaper correspondent in America, and has been the recipient of hundreds of autograph letters from eminent men concerning public questions affecting the Negro. Among them are such distinguished men as Wm. E. Gladstone, Roscoe Conkling, Levi P. Morton, John A. Logan, Geo. F. Hoar, J. S. Clarkson, A. W. Tourgee and many others. Mr. Bruce has possibly as fine a collection of scrap-books as one would wish to see. Among them (there are three of them) is one which contains over a thousand columns of matter from his own pen, the result of his labors since 1874. Another contains important correspondence valued for the autographs of the distinguished writers; in this scrap-book is contained a letter from Mr. Gladstone, with his autograph, the autographs of Grover Cleveland, Chester A. Arthur, Cardinal Gibbons, Baron H. Von Lindern, of Amsterdam, Holland, James Russell Lowell, John Hay, W. W. Astor, Frederick Douglass, James Freeman Clark, R. G. Ingersoll, William McKinley, J. N. Bonaparte, Geo. F. Edmunds, Geo. William Curtis, William Mahone, William E. Dodge, Bishop Phillips Brooks, James Theodore Holly, Bishop of Hayti, Hon. John W. Foster, Rev. Alexander Crummell, Hon. Edward Wilmot Blyden and other distinguished personages. Mr. Bruce is a voluminous and witty writer, and represents over a dozen of the best Negro newspapers now published.
JOURNALISM IN PHILADELPHIA.
In noting the journalistic efforts of the colored people, Philadelphia can proudly boast of having eight live newspapers and two magazines that reflect real credit on the colored race. The first to be considered is the Weekly Tribune, one of the very few colored papers in the United States that is actually making money. It was founded in 1884 by Mr. Christopher J. Perry, and has steadily advanced as the years rolled on, until now it is established on a solid financial basis. It is bright, crisp, newsy, and the most popular newspaper among the colored people in the city.
The Standard-Echo began publication in 1883, with Mr. Abel P. Caldwell as managing editor. The Echo has enjoyed all the experiences of the average Negro journal.
The Sunday Journal, a new feature in Negro journalism, was founded by the late Robert G. Still, in 1895. After his death Messrs. Hart & Gee assumed the management of it, and through their combined efforts it is rapidly nearing the goal of success.
For workmanship, bright and crisp news, the Sunday Herald has no superior. It was established by T. Wallace Swann, January, 1896. The paper has struck the public's vein, and bids fair to outstrip some of the older journals.
The Christian Banner is a Baptist paper, and is largely circulated throughout the United States. Rev. G. L. P. Taliaferro is the editor.
REV. C. H. PHILLIPS, D. D.
Rev. C. H. Phillips is the editor of the Christian Index, which is the official organ of the C. M. E. Church. Their publishing house is located at Jackson, Tenn., where they own their building and a splendid printing plant. Dr. Phillips was born at Milledgeville, Ga., in 1858. He is a graduate from Central Tennessee College, and has been prominent since then both as teacher and pastor. Rev. Phillips has made the Index one of the leading church papers published in the country, and the church may well be proud of him.
ADAMS BROTHERS.
Remarkable types in Negro journalism are Cyrus Field Adams and John Quincy Adams, of the Chicago Appeal. The Appeal is regarded as one of the best weekly newspapers published.
HON. H. C. SMITH.
A musician, a composer, and an editor, a composite body, is Hon. Harry C. Smith, editor and publisher of the Cleveland Gazette. He is a born artist, a deep thinker, liberal and fair-minded. A valuable acquisition to Negro journalism.
HON. JOHN C. DANCY.
HON. J. C. DANCY.
Hon. John C. Dancy, editor of the A. M. E. Zion Quarterly, published at Wilmington, N. C., in the interest of the A. M. E. Zion Church, has held many responsible positions in the State and Nation. His ability as an editor, and as an orator, has already been acknowledged by the most reliable newspapers in this country. Mr. Dancy is well known throughout the United States and Europe. His career has been remarkable, and his attitude in defence of human rights is stern and unsympathetic.
WILLIAM HOWARD DAY.
Rev. William Howard Day, financial secretary of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, is one of the brightest men in the United States. He has had, in addition to a fine collegiate training, the advantage of much travel and experience. Mr. Day has the honor of being the only colored man I know of who holds just such a position as he now occupies. In 1891, he was elected superintendent of the public schools of Harrisburg and Steelton, Pa.; he has held the position up to this time (1896) with credit to himself, and has so conducted the school work that the general verdict is in his favor. Men holding this position are only elected for one year at a time; so this makes his position all the more interesting, from the fact that he has been re-elected each year since 1891.
REV. WM. HOWARD DAY, D. D.
I wish to call the attention of my readers to a very important feature of his work, which I feel is a great advantage to the colored people. He has been able to unite the schools, not only in allowing white and colored scholars to attend in the same building, but he has succeeded in getting white and colored teachers as well. Mr. Day has been a regular contributor to the daily press of Harrisburg, and weekly and monthly periodicals throughout this country.
REV. I. B. SCOTT, A. M., D. D.
Rev. I. B. Scott, A. M., D. D., who was president of Wiley University at Marshall, Texas, was at the last General Conference of the M. E. Church, held in Cleveland, Ohio, in May, 1896, elected as editor of the Southwestern Christian Advocate, which is published in the interest of the Colored members of the M. E. Church.
THE GEORGIA BAPTIST.
Published by the Georgia Baptist Printing Co., Augusta, Ga., began publication in October, 1880. Has come out regularly every week. Rev. W. J. White has been editor from beginning, and also business manager. The plant is worth about $3,000, has one large cylinder and two first-class job presses, employs the year round twelve to eighteen hands, all colored, and prints minutes for about sixty religious bodies, conventions and associations.
GEO. L. KNOX.
Mr. George L. Knox, the publisher of the Freeman, at Indianapolis, Ind., has given the colored people one of the best illustrated weekly papers ever issued in this country. Mr. Knox is a hard worker, and the Freeman is doing a most creditable work.
WALTER H. STOWERS.
W. H. STOWERS.
Mr. Walter H. Stowers is a city clerk in Detroit, Mich. He is one of the bright minds among young colored men. He is Deputy County Clerk for Wayne County, Mich., his special duty being clerk of one of the Circuit Court rooms. He has also been admitted to the bar, and is a member of the law firm of Barnes & Stowers. He was at one time one of the editors of the Plaindealer. Mr. Stowers and Mr. Wm. Anderson wrote "Appointed," an American novel, which has attracted considerable attention.
MR. CHARLES STEWART.
Mr. Stewart has for years done work on white daily papers as a regular reporter. At the last General Conference of the A. M. E. Church, which met in Wilmington, N. C., Mr. Stewart took all of the conference reports, and the Wilmington Messenger has this to say of him:
"The Messenger gave full and readable reports of the proceedings of the conference, and we take this opportunity to commend Mr. Charles Stewart for the excellent and satisfactory manner in which he made the reports for us. It was a laborious piece of work, and all who read the reports can testify that the work was efficiently and cleverly done.
Mr. Stewart is a native of Kentucky, and began newspaper work on the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1880. Subsequently he was engaged by the Chicago Inter-Ocean and worked as a reporter on that paper from 1885 to 1892, since which time he has been on the editorial staff of the Chicago Dispatch. He is said to be the only Negro holding such a position in journalism.
THE WOMAN'S ERA.
MRS. J. ST. P. RUFFIN,
Editor of The Woman's Era.
The Woman's Era, published at Boston, Mass., is strictly a woman's journal. It is issued monthly, and Mrs. Josephine St. P. Ruffin is its editor. The Era is the organ of the Federation of Afro-American Women. It is beautifully illustrated, and the literary matter is of the very best quality.
The Woman's Era is a much-needed publication, and to my mind is filling a long-felt want. I am personally acquainted with Mrs. Ruffin and I am sure she is well suited for the work she has in hand as the editor of the Woman's Era. We need more such bright intellectual lights as Mrs. Ruffin to penetrate the dark clouds of prejudice that hang over this country North and South.
I. GARLAND PENN.
This young man has written and published several books. His first book, "The Afro-American Press," gave short sketches of the colored editors and writers. The book had large sale all over the country. Mr. Penn is at the head of the Colored schools of Lynchburg, Va., his native town. He was appointed chief commissioner of the Cotton States and International Exposition, at Atlanta, Ga., for the Colored people's department. He is a very young man to have accomplished so much and we feel sure that he has before him a bright and useful future.
PROF. E. JOHNSON.
Prof. E. Johnson, of Raleigh, N. C., now a teacher in the law department of Shaw University, has written the only school history now in use in Colored schools, which makes any reference to what Colored people have done. I feel that Mr. Johnson did a grand work to get his book into the public schools of North Carolina, and I only wish such books could be in use in all Colored schools, for all over this country, Colored children are being taught out of books which make no reference whatever to what progress has been made by the race. It is very hard to stimulate race pride without race information.
PROF. H. T. KEALING, B. S., A. M.
PROF. H. T. KEALING, B. S., A. M.
The present editor of the A. M. E. Church Review, who takes Dr. Coppin's place, is indeed a unique character and has filled some important positions as an educator and writer. He was elected Assistant Principal of Prairie View State Normal School of Texas in 1883. While here he attracted much attention throughout the country by an impromptu speech before the National Educational Association in Topeka, Kan., which the New England Journal of Education pronounced the brightest and wittiest piece of oratory in the whole session. He contributed in 1886 to The Century Magazine, of New York, for which he was well paid. He at one time was supervisor of the Colored schools in Austin, Tex. The position was created by the board for him. I know of no other such case. For four years he was President of Paul Quinn College at Waco, Tex. While there he added several new features to its curriculum. During his vacations he spent his time in the South and Northwest as a lecturer, and is now known as one of the best platform speakers in the country regardless of color. His lecture, "The American Jonah," is unique, witty, forcible, and a popular favorite. As an editor he has had some experience before and has been a regular contributor to Inter-Ocean, N. E. Journal of Education, Texas School Journal, Galveston News and many other leading papers of the country. I am sure the A. M. E. Review has fallen into good hands. Mr. Kealing was elected to his present position in May, 1896, at Wilmington, N. C.
PAUL L. DUNBAR
whose book of poems brought forth high praise from the Hoosier poet, James Whitcomb Reilly. His book also attracted the attention of William Dean Howell who wrote a splendid review of it in Harper's Magazine, in which he said, "Mr. Dunbar's poems have given me a much higher estimate of the Negro."