Jesse Max Barber (July 5, 1878 – September 20, 1949) was an

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 ...

journalist, teacher and dentist.

Biography

Born in

Blackstock, South Carolina Blackstock is an unincorporated community in Chester and Fairfield counties in the Midlands of South Carolina about north of Columbia. The elevation of the community is . Its ZIP code is 29014. Government Blackstock is an unincorporated c ...

, to former slave parents, Jesse Max Barber was educated at

Benedict College Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across the liberal arts ...

and

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

, where he was student editor of the university journal and president of the literary society. After graduation in 1903 he began working for the '' Voice of the Negro'', a monthly literary magazine founded in 1904 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, eventually becoming its editor-in-chief. Barber, one of the founders of the

Niagara Movement The Niagara Movement (NM) was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group of activists—many of whom were among the vanguard of African-American lawyers in the United States—led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. ...

in 1905, sought out younger and more radical black writers for the ''Voice''. By 1906 the ''Voice'' was the leading black magazine in the United States, with a circulation of 15,000.Blue, Christopher T.
Barber, J. Max (1878-1949)
at

blackpast.org BlackPast.org is a web-based reference center that is dedicated primarily to the understanding of African-American history and Afro-Caribbean history and the history of people of Sub-Saharan African ancestry. In 2011 the American Library Associati ...

After the

Atlanta Riots Atlanta riot or Atlanta riots may refer to: * 1906 Atlanta race riot *1967 Atlanta riots The 1967 Atlanta riots were one of many riots during the Long, hot summer of 1967 lasting from June 17, 1967 to June 20. The riots started after a black mal ...

in 1906, Barber faced threats from white vigilantes and was forced to flee to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. There he was unable to secure financial backing for his magazine, and ''Voice of the Negro'' folded in 1907. Barber's radicalism had made an enemy of

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 ...

, whose interventions caused Barber to lose jobs as a newspaper editor in Chicago and as a teacher in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. To escape Washington's influence, in 1909 Barber retrained at the

Philadelphia Dental School Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and on graduation in 1912 he set up a Philadelphia dental practice. In 1923, Barber attended and spoke what was hoped to be an annual "pilgrimage" of Blacks from "all parts of the Union" at

John Brown's grave The John Brown Farm State Historic Site includes the home and final resting place of abolitionist John Brown (1800–1859). It is located on John Brown Road in the town of North Elba, 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Lake Placid, New York, where ...

, in

North Elba, New York North Elba is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 8,957 at the 2010 census. North Elba is on the western edge of the county. It is by road southwest of Plattsburgh, south-southwest of Montreal, and north of ...

Biography

References

Further reading