Rufus Logan was the editor of ''The Professional World'', a newspaper for African Americans established in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

in 1901. It was published until about 1921. Anderson Logan was his father. Logan was described as being from

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

, having "considerable" teaching and writing experience, and having been educated at Lincoln Institute. Columbia was at least a third African American during the early 20th century. Logan advocated for the establishment of black businesses in the area. Logan and his paper had a rivalry with the '' St. Louis Palladium'' and its editor

John W. Wheeler John W. Wheeler (c. 1846-1907 or after) was the editor of the ''St. Louis Palladium'', an African-American-oriented newspaper printed in St. Louis, Missouri, from about 1884 until about 1911. Personal Wheeler was a freeborn Kentucky native who ...

. The paper covered career advancements of black professionals, black businesses, and events such as a visit by

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 a

Blind Boone John William "Blind" Boone (May 17, 1864 – October 4, 1927) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime music. Early life Boone was born in a Federal militia camp near Miami, Missouri, May 17, 1864, to a contraband slave, Rachel, who used ...

concert. ''The Professional World'' lasted until about 1920. In 1921, Logan was appointed to the Board of Curators of Lincoln University. He was involved in the controversial reappointment of the university's president

Inman E. Page Inman E. Page (December 29, 1853 - December 21, 1935) was a Baptist leader and educator in Oklahoma and Missouri. He was president of four schools: the Lincoln Institute, Langston University, Western University, and Roger Williams University and ...

. Logan was critical of

's ''St. Louis Palladium'' newspaper. Logan ran an unsigned editorial innthe ''World'' that said the ''Palladium'' was "filled with whiskey and wine room ads., and has no regard for the truth." The editorial took exception to Wheeler's calling the editor of a third African-American newspaper, the ''American Eagle,'' an "old black man."''The Professional World,'' October 2, 1903, Page 4
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Such references are disgraceful to the editorial profession and no respectable editor would make use of such. But this is characteristic of the ''Palladium,'' and, the worst of all, this bulldozing editor has "Rev." before his name. . . . The ''Palladium'' never contains an editorial, but this is easily accounted for as it takes something more than a lead pencil and a tablet to produce an editorial (intelligence) and this is something the ''Palladium'' has not.

The

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

has issues of the paper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Rufus 20th-century American newspaper editors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people