Adolphus D. Griffin

Adolphus Dyonisius Griffin (June 11, 1868 – June 2, 1916) was an American newspaper editor and publisher in the Pacific Northwest, Los Angeles, and Kansas who focused on African-American causes, including disenfranchisement in business and politics.[1][2] Also known as A. D. Griffin, he founded The New Age, Portland’s first Black newspaper, in 1896. He was friends with Booker T. Washington and participated in the Portland chapter of the National Afro-American Council.[3] He was also an investor in real estate.[4]

Adolphus D. Griffin
BornJune 11, 1868
Kingston, Louisiana, US
DiedJune 2, 1916(1916-06-02) (aged 47)
Kansas City, Kansas, US
Occupation(s)Newspaper editor and publisher
Years active1888–1916
Known forThe New Age (Portland, Oregon)

Life

Griffin was born June 11, 1868, in Kingston, Louisiana.[1][5][6] His parents, Fannie and Tillman Griffin, were farmers.[2] At age 20, he moved to California.[6]

Griffin was married to Emma K. Griffin, whom he left in 1907 when he moved to Topeka, Kansas.[1][2]

He later moved to Kansas City, where he died of heart failure in his office on June 2, 1916.[1][6][7] He was buried in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]

Career
July 14, 1900 call for submissions to The New Age

If you are sick,
If you are going to have a tour,
If you have a friend coming to town,
If you are going to give a reception,
If you did give a reception lately,
If you have lost a member of your family,
If your church is going to give a concert or supper,
If you have any good clean news, whatever, send it by card or otherwise.

– Adolphus D. Griffin, The New Age, [5]

While he lived in California, Griffin helped with starting the California Eagle (Los Angeles).[6] When he moved to Spokane, Washington, he became an editor for The Northwest Echo . He moved to Portland, Oregon in 1896, where he started The New Age,[lower-alpha 1][1] an eight-page weekly newspaper he published from 1899–1907.[4][5] This was the first newspaper for Portland's roughly 700 black residents.[5] He also started land development company Enterprise Investment Company.[1] In addition to its historical importance for articles on issues facing the black population, The New Age is unique since African-Americans were excluded by the constitution of the state of Oregon during the time the newspaper was published.[5][8]

He was elected as a Republican delegate to the Oregon state convention twice.[8]

In Topeka, Kansas, he worked as an editor for The Topeka Plaindealer  and as a city detective.[1] In 1913, Griffin became a trustee and board president for Western University, a historically black college in Quindaro, Kansas.[9] In 1916 in Kansas City, he started The Kansas Elevator .[1][6]

Notes
  1. Renamed the Portland New Age in 1905.[5]

References
  1. Lee, Allen L. (January 17, 2007). "ADOLPHUS D. GRIFFIN (1868-1916)". blackpast.org. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  2. Lee, Allen L. (September 25, 2005). "The Life of a Newspaper Man". AfriGeneas Western Frontier Forum. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  3. Broussard, A. (1988). "McCants Stewart: The Struggles of a Black Attorney in the Urban West". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 89 (2): 157–179. JSTOR 20614176. Archived from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  4. Dodds, Gordon Barlow (1977). Oregon: A Bicentennial History. Norton. p. 126. ISBN 0393056325.
  5. Mangun, Kimberly (June 3, 2013). "Editor A.D. Griffin: Envisioning a New Age for Black Oregonians (1896-1907)". American Journalism. 26 (3): 55–92. doi:10.1080/08821127.2009.10677727. S2CID 155778939. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  6. "A. D. Griffin Passes Away". The Kansas Elevator. June 10, 1916. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  7. "Among the Colored People". Atchison Champion. Atchison, Kansas. June 6, 1916. Retrieved September 5, 2023. A. D. Griffin, the veteran newspaper man of Kansas City dropped dead last Friday at that place. He was editor of the Kansas Elevator for many years. Willis Covington of this city was a personal friend of his.
  8. Rabun, Sheila J. "Oregon Digital Newspaper Program: Preserving History While Shaping the Future". Libraries, Museums, and Oregon's Cultural History. 18 (3). Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  9. "A. D. Griffin, Veteran Newspaper Man, Answers the Call of His Maker". The Topeka Plaindealer. June 9, 1916. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
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