Adolphus Dyonisius Griffin (June 11, 1868 – June 2, 1916) was an American newspaper editor and publisher in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

who focused on African-American causes, including disenfranchisement in business and politics. Also known as A. D. Griffin, he founded ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published ...

'', Portland’s first

Black newspaper African-American newspapers (also known as the Black press or Black newspapers) are news publications in the United States serving African-American communities. Samuel Cornish and John Brown Russwurm started the first African-American periodi ...

, in 1896. He was friends with

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

and participated in the Portland chapter of the

National Afro-American Council The National Afro-American Council was the first nationwide civil rights organization in the United States, created in 1898 in Rochester, New York. Before its dissolution a decade later, the Council provided both the first national arena for disc ...

. He was also an investor in real estate.

Life

Griffin was born June 11, 1868, in

Kingston, Louisiana Kingston is an unincorporated community in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located approximately 16 miles south of Shreveport near the intersection of Louisiana highways 5 and 175. The community is part of the Shreveport–Bo ...

. His parents, Fannie and Tillman Griffin, were farmers. At age 20, he moved to California. Griffin was married to Emma K. Griffin, whom he left in 1907 when he moved to Topeka, Kansas. He later moved to Kansas City, where he died of heart failure in his office on June 2, 1916. He was buried in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

Career

While he lived in California, Griffin helped with starting the ''

California Eagle The ''California Eagle'' (1879–1964) was an African-American newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded as ''The Owl'' in 1879 by John J. Neimore. Charlotta Bass became owner of the paper after Neimore's death in 1912. She owned and ...

'' (Los Angeles). When he moved to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, he became an editor for . He moved to Portland, Oregon in 1896, where he started ''The New Age'', an eight-page weekly newspaper he published from 1899–1907. This was the first newspaper for Portland's roughly 700 black residents. He also started land development company Enterprise Investment Company. 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. He was elected as a Republican delegate to the Oregon state convention twice. In

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

, he worked as an editor for and as a city detective. In 1913, Griffin became a trustee and board president for Western University, a

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Quindaro, Kansas Quindaro Townsite is a former settlement, then ghost town, and now an archaeological district. It is around North 27th Street and the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks in Kansas City, Kansas. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Pla ...

. In 1916 in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, he started .

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Adolphus D. 1868 births 1916 deaths African-American businesspeople African-American publishers (people) Journalists from Louisiana People from DeSoto Parish, Louisiana 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century African-American people