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Clara Belle Williams Franklin 1856 - 1945 A
biographical sketch of George and Clara Franklin's son, Chester, says
that his family moved to Omaha in 1887. Perhaps it was actually
early the following year, because The Sunday Gazetteer reported on January 1, 1888 that Mrs. G.F. Franklin was at home to receive New Year's Day callers in Denison.  George
F. Franklin first appears in Omaha city directories in 1889. The
reason for the family's move from Denison to Omaha was reported in
later years to have been a desire to escape racial segregation and
disenfranchisement of minorities and to find better educational
opportunities for Chester. He was seven years old at the time of
the move. Before the move he may have attended first grade at
Anderson school on West Bond Street when it opened in 1886. George worked as a barber in Omaha for four or five years before starting the Enterprise Printing Company, which he used to publish the Enterprise, an African-American weekly. He was also employed by the city from around 1893 to 1897, first as a ward assessor and later as an inspector of weights and measures. Chester graduated from high school in 1896. At his commencement he delivered a speech titled "Patriotism and Politics." He attended the University of Nebraska for two years before returning home in 1898 to help his ailing father with the newspaper. That same year the Franklins sold the Enterprise and left Omaha for Denver in hopes of reviving George's failing health. After the family arrived in Colorado, George purchased another weekly newspaper, The Statesman. Chester took the position of associate editor.  George,
the editor, died in 1901, but Chester and Clara continued to publish
the paper for the next twelve years. In 1911 they changed the
name to The Star. In 1913 they sold it and moved from Denver to Kansas City, Missouri.  Clara & Chester Kansas City, Missouri Chester
set up his own printing company in Kansas City. Six years later
he had accumulated sufficient resources and good will to found The Call
in 1919. It went on to become one of the largest African-American
weeklies in the country. Ninety-six years later it continues to
serve the black communities of Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City,
Kansas. Clara Franklin worked side-by-side with her son at The Call from the beginning. She began with the title of bookkeeper, but her duties included much more. She was in charge of circulation, and she went from door to door in the evenings selling subscriptions. In 1925, at the age of 45, Chester traveled to Philadelphia to marry Ada Crogman (1886 - 1983), daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William H. Crogman of Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Crogman (1841 - 1931) taught Latin and Greek at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) for 37 years and served as its first black president from 1903 to 1910. Ada, along with two sisters and five brothers, grew up on the Clark campus. After graduation from Clark, Ada studied dramatic art at Emerson College in Boston. Upon completion of her studies there she worked for the National Playground and Recreation Association of New York. As part of her job she traveled the country in search of African-American talent. She later taught at Alabama State College and Tennessee State University She gave up teaching to write and produce a pageant depicting the history of her race. "Milestones of a Race" toured the country, and it was while traveling in connection with the pageant that she met Chester Franklin. After they married, she worked with him and Clara at The Call. Chester Franklin attributed much of his success to the two women in his life, his mother and his wife. During his 36 years at The Call, Chester, better known as C.A., was associated with several notable figures. He was an early political ally of Harry Truman (1884 - 1972). Although the two parted in 1941 over differences, they continued to correspond occasionally until Franklin's death. Roy Wilkins (1901 - 1981), reporter and managing editor of The Call from 1923 - 1931, became executive director of the NAACP in 1955. Lucile Bluford (1911 - 2003), who succeeded Franklin as editor and publisher, sued the University of Missouri after they rescinded her admission upon meeting her and discovering she was black. She won her case in the Missouri Supreme Court in 1941. She continued to crusade against racism throughout her career, which lasted until her death at 91. A branch of the Kansas City Public Library is named for her. Elsewhere in the city an elementary school is named for C.A. Franklin. When C.A. Franklin died in 1955, his funeral was held according to his instructions in the pressroom of The Call. Clara had preceded him in death by 9-1/2 years.
Chester Franklin's entry in the 1999 Biographical Dictionary of Notable Missourians The Franklin Collection is the first collection of historical materials to go online at the Black Archives of Mid-America. The collection includes biographical sketches of A.C. and Ada Franklin, letters, photos, a brief history of The Call, and more.  Biography Index African-American Biography Index African-American Research Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |
