BLACK HISTORY
Portland
continued from page 4
ally of the race, as well as in appearance,
form and advertising.” In addition to a
wealth of local news, the paper also printed
pieces from correspondents based in Wash-
ington and Montana, helping to foster a
sense of connection and common cause
among the scattered African American com-
munities of the Pacific Northwest. While it
frequently printed criticism of race relations
in Portland, the paper nonetheless boosted
Oregon as a relatively welcoming place for
blacks to live, and encouraged further
immigration to the region.
Griffin’s was a position of significant
influence. The editor of an eastern Oregon
paper, the Baker City Republican, once
referred to him as “the political leader of the
colored people of the Willamette Valley.”
This was a bit hyperbolic, perhaps, but Grif-
fin certainly was outspoken in his insistence
that black citizens register and vote in elec-
tions, and he did not shy away from
endorsing Republican candidates whom he
viewed as sympathetic to his cause. Howev-
er, he was also quick to criticize the party:
“…Negro voters are entitled to some recog-
soon as the votes are counted.”
Though it was a progressive journal for its
day, when judged by contemporary stan-
While Griffin did not hesitate to criticize the
dominant society for its most egregious
injustices, his message is generally one of racial
self-reliance and self-improvement
nition after election as well as before.
Generally, the politicians forget them as
dards, The New Age may actually give the
impression of being rather conservative.
When it ran photographs, they more often
depicted white politicians or national digni-
taries than local people of color. The paper
also accepted advertisements from segre-
gated businesses, such as the luxurious
Portland Hotel. While Griffin did not hesi-
tate to criticize the dominant society for its
most egregious injustices, his message is
generally one of racial self-reliance and
self-improvement. Indeed, he reserved
some of his most scathing critiques for peo-
ple in his own community. “If co- operative
associations and business enterprises num-
bered among us as many as our pleasure
clubs,” he once editorialized, “we would be
a more important factor in the commercial
world.” The young newspaperman admired
Booker T. Washington, and more or less
shared his Accommodationist philosophy of
race advancement. “Be brave, and true, and
industrious, and sensible, brothers,” Griffin
advised. “[For] the world is growing
brighter for the colored race in America.”
The New Age continued to be published
until 1907; an impressive accomplishment
in an era when the average paper lasted less
than a decade. The reasons are not entirely
clear why the publisher suddenly closed up
shop and left the state at this time. The small
and decentralized nature of the black popu-
lation in the Northwest may have made it
too difficult to operate his paper at a profit,
or it might be that Griffin’s self-avowed
“roving nature” simply got the better of
him. Before long, he resurfaced in Kansas,
joining the staff of another African Ameri-
can newspaper, the Topeka Plaindealer.
By 1916, he was once again ready to edit
a journal of his own, but his new enterprise,
the Kansas City Kansas Elevator, was to
last only a few months. Tragedy ended the
paper’s run: while composing an editorial
endorsing the policies of Woodrow Wilson,
Adolphus Griffin died suddenly of heart
failure. An obituary in the Topeka Plain-
dealer memorialized Griffin’s crusading
spirit and tireless work ethic, declaring that
“news of his death was a gigantic shock to
thousands of people from Mississippi to the
Pacific coast.”
February 25, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner – Black History Edition Page 5