“P ortland © bsrrorr
in the Northwest to be admitted
to the Oregon State Bar, having
attended Northwestern School
o f Law in night classes while
raising two sons. Both o f the
Cannadys were prominent in
social and political circles, and
E.D. Cannady reigned for 15
years as Exalted Ruler o f the
sistant Editor.
pursue a boxing career. Mr.
he power o f the Afri Walker also founded the Miss
can Am erican news Tan Oregon and then the Miss
paper resided in its B lack O regon pag­
ability to counter-balance eants.
the ne­
glect and distortions A frican
Am erican news and individu­
als suffered in the hands o f the ( © h s e r u e r was es­
T
dom inant press. Supported by
s u b s c rip ­
tio n s and
advertising
fro m
th e
A fric a n
A m e r ic a n
community,
th e s e p a ­
pers could
exercise an
in d e p e n ­
dent voice
and present
an alterna­
tive vision
o f iss u e s
and activi­
ties. These
e a rly p a ­
p e rs w e re
Jimmy Bang Bang" Walker, publisher o f the ‘‘Clarion
P o r tla n d ’s
Defender. ’ ' (P hoto cou rtesy of OHS)
contribution
to the long­
Rose City Elks Lodge # 111, o f standing and respected body
which he was a 1906 charter o f the national African Am eri­
member. Cannady was also the can press.
famous “hat man” at the Port-
LATER MAJOR NEWS­
/ land H otel; for decades he PAPERS
checked as many as 300 hats an
In 1938, Atlanta-born Bill
evening and without use o f a M cClendon came to Portland
ticket check always returned the and co-founded the Portland
hat to its proper owner. Beatrice Observer with Charlie Garrett,
Cannady was a tireless civil rights who operated the M adrona Ra­
advocate, with a steady stream dio and Record Shop. The pa­
o f local speaking engagements. per ran until 1943. M cClendon
She was also a speaker at an­ followed with the P eople’s Ob­
nual National NAACP conven­ server from 1943-45, and then
tions and the first Pan African The Observer from 1945-50.
Congress in New York, and M any o f his riveting editorials
helped organize local NAACP are c o n ta in e d in his book
chapters in Bend and Vernonia.
“Straight Ahead: Essays on
n 1930, the Cannadys di the S tru g g le o f B la cks in
vorced and Beatrice mar America, 1934-94”. They fully
ried Advocate typesetter convey the intensity o f the local
Yancy Franklin and continued racial issues o f the eras and
as editor o f the Advocate. E.D. many are as relevant today as
Cannady continued in real es­ when they were published.
tate until his death in relative
The Northwest Clarion De­
obscurity in 1941. The Advo­ fender was published in from
cate ceased publication in 1933, 1943-61 by Arthur & Etoile Cox.
having never missed a weekly Mr. Cox, who came from Kan­
issue, providing an intimate pic­ sas City in 1941, also established
ture o f daily life in the African Cox Funeral Home, where op­
American com m unity for 30 eration continues today at 2736
years.
NE Rodney Avenue.
The Portland Times was pub­
The Clarion Defender was
lished from 1913 until 1923, with published from 1960-70 by
Dr. James Merriman as Editor Jimmy “Bang Bang” Walker,
and William McLamore as As­ who came to Portland in 1955 to
I
February 21, 2001
Focus >-
published by the Bosco-Milligan
Foundation. The book is avail­
able at Reflections, located at 446
Page 7
NE Killingsworth and at local
libraries. A companion video
documentary is underway.
kt
ta b lis h e d by Rev.
A lfre d H en d erso n ,
Bethel AME pastor, in
1970 through the ef­
forts o f the Albina M in-
isterial Alliance. The
paper continues publi­
cation today at 4747 NE
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Blvd by the sons o f late
publisher Joyce Wash­
ington;
The Skanner was
established by Bernie
Foster in 1975. It also
continues publication,
relocated in 1997 to 415
N. Killingsworth.
A number o f other
A fric a n A m erican
newspapers were pub­
lished for a short time
from the 1950’s to the
1960’s.
This information is
drawn from “Corner­
stones o f Community:
the B u ild in g s o f
P o r tla n d ’s A frica n
A m erican H is to r y ”,
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