Beatrice Morrow on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Beatrice Morrow Cannady (January 9, 1890 – August 19, 1974) was a renowned
In June 1912, Beatrice Morrow married Edward Daniel Cannady. He was the co-founder of ''The Advocate'', one of
Oregon Experience television episode
about Beatrice Morrow Cannady
A Force for Change
a book about Beatrice Morrow Cannady
Beatrice Morrow Cannady
Documentary produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannady, Beatrice Morrow 1889 births 1964 deaths Women civil rights activists African-American women lawyers African-American women in politics American women in World War I African-American people in Oregon politics Activists for African-American civil rights Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Activists from Portland, Oregon People from Travis County, Texas African-American history in Portland, Oregon African-American history of Oregon 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American lawyers
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
advocate in early 20th-century Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, United States. She was editor of the ''Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
'', the state's largest African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
newspaper. She was also co-founder and vice president of the Portland, Oregon chapter of the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
.
Early life
Cannady was born Beatrice Hulon Morrow inLittig, Texas
Littig is a small unincorporated community in eastern Travis County, Texas, United States established in 1883. Littig is on the Southern Pacific line two miles (3 km) south of U.S. Highway 290 and eighteen miles (29 km) northeast of the ...
in 1890. She was the second-oldest daughter of George Morrow and Mary Francis Carter Morrow, farmers who raised their children to value education. Beatrice graduated from Wiley College
Wiley College is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black col ...
. They had twelve surviving children; eleven daughters and one son. Morrow enjoyed singing from an early age. As a young woman, she moved to Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
to study music with conductor David Clippinger.
Career and civil rights
In June 1912, Beatrice Morrow married Edward Daniel Cannady. He was the co-founder of ''The Advocate'', one of Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
's first black-owned newspapers. The two had written to each other while Morrow was living in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. Upon moving to Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, Cannady became associate editor of ''The Advocate''. Her work through the newspaper drew attention to racial violence during the early 1920s and prompted a statement from Governor Ben W. Olcott
Ben Wilson Olcott (October 15, 1872July 21, 1952) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 16th Governor of Oregon.
Early life
Olcott was born in Keithsburg, Illinois. He was educated at a Keithsburg elementary ...
decrying the actions of the Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
, which was spreading through Oregon at the time.
In addition to her editorial work, Cannady helped to establish the Portland chapter of the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
in 1913. This organization marked the first such branch of the organization formed west of the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
and continues to actively participate in the Portland community. Acting as the chapter's secretary, Cannady worked with the group to remove racist, exclusionary language from Oregon's constitution, a mission which succeeded in 1926 and 1927 when the changes were ratified. Cannady also led protests against Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
propaganda film The Birth of a Nation
''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Cla ...
.
Cannady's involvement with the Bahá'í Faith can be dated to 1914/1915, though the Mangun biography dates her official affiliation to 1928, apparently the earliest available membership list of the Portland community.
Cannady graduated from Northwestern College of Law
The Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College (also known as Lewis & Clark Law School), is an American Bar Association-approved private law school in Portland, Oregon.
The law school received ABA approval in 1970 and joined the Ass ...
in 1922, making her the first black woman to graduate from law school in Oregon. She went on to become the first black woman to practice law in Oregon. A Republican, she was the first black woman to run for state representative. Cannady successfully advocated for the passage of civil rights bills by the Oregon state legislature. Her efforts helped integrate public schools in Longview, Washington and Vernonia, Oregon
Vernonia is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the Nehalem River, in a valley on the eastern side of the Northern Oregon Coast Range that is the heart of one of the most important timber-producing areas of the sta ...
.
In 1927, Cannady represented Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
at the 4th annual Pan-African Congress
The Pan-African Congress was a series of eight meetings, held in 1919 in Paris (1st Pan-African Congress), 1921 in London, Brussels and Paris (2nd Pan-African Congress), 1923 in London (3rd Pan-African Congress), 1927 in New York City (4th Pan-Afr ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Personal life
Cannady had two sons, George Cannady and Ivan Caldwell Cannady. She divorced Edward Cannady in 1930. A year later, she married Yancy Jerome Franklin, a typist at ''The Advocate''. Cannady and Franklin divorced in 1936. Cannady left Oregon in about 1938 and moved to Los Angeles, California where she married Reuben Taylor. She worked for the ''Precinct Reporter
The ''Precinct Reporter'' is a weekly African-American newspaper published in San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located ...
'', a Southern California newspaper founded in 1965 that served the black community.
Legacy
Cannady paved the way for the second generation of civil rights activists in Oregon with her nearly 25-year fight as a leading activist. To honor her history in the area, a new school in theNorth Clackamas School District
North Clackamas School District (NC12) serves more than 40 square miles and is located 7 miles from downtown Portland. Included are the incorporated cities of Milwaukie, Happy Valley, and Johnson City, parts of Damascus, and the neighborhoods ...
bears her name as the Beatrice Morrow Cannady Elementary School. An affordable housing project in North Portland will be named the Beatrice Morrow Building in her honor.
See also
*List of first women lawyers and judges in Oregon
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Oregon. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such becoming the first in their sta ...
References
External links
Oregon Experience television episode
about Beatrice Morrow Cannady
A Force for Change
a book about Beatrice Morrow Cannady
External links
Beatrice Morrow Cannady
Documentary produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannady, Beatrice Morrow 1889 births 1964 deaths Women civil rights activists African-American women lawyers African-American women in politics American women in World War I African-American people in Oregon politics Activists for African-American civil rights Lawyers from Portland, Oregon Activists from Portland, Oregon People from Travis County, Texas African-American history in Portland, Oregon African-American history of Oregon 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American lawyers