Walter J. Singleton was a journalist and civil servant in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was an editor of the ''Omaha Progress'' and a member of the Afro-American League, a predecessor 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 Washington D.C. he worked as a clerk for the

Department of War War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

and was active in a number of intellectual and social clubs.

Life

Walter J. Singleton was born in Virginia near Washington, DC in about 1860. He married Minnie B. Green,"Deaths". Evening Star (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Monday, July 3, 1933. Page: 8 daughter of Johnson Green and Mary Jane Bradshaw. In the 1880s, he moved with his brother, Millard F. Singleton, to Omaha, Nebraska. He died July 1, 1933.

Career

Omaha

In Nebraska, he was active in state politics. He was associated with the states first black legislator, M. O. Rickets, and in 1890, he helped form a Nebraska branch of the Afro-American League in Omaha, where he was an officer He was an editor of the black paper, ''Omaha Progress''"No Headline". Washington Bee (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Saturday, December 17, 1898. Volume: XVII Issue: 30 Page: 4 founded by Ferdinand L. Barnett.

District of Columbia

In December 1898 he was appointed to the employ of the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

by Secretary of War and former congressman from Nebraska,

George de Rue Meiklejohn George de Rue Meiklejohn (; August 26, 1857 – April 19, 1929) was an American politician who served as the fifth lieutenant governor of Nebraska under Governor John Milton Thayer and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Ne ...

, where he first served as a messenger. He transferred to a clerkship in the office of the Secretary of the War Department and then as a clerk in the Bureau of Insular Affairs in the War Department. In 1908 he served as president of the Young Men's Protective League in Washington D.C. He presidency of the group was tumultuous, as he faced two legal battles during his first term. However, he was reelected in 1909. In the 1910s he was an active member of the Washington DC Mu-So-Lit club, representing DCs Musical, Social, and Literary professionals . In 1917 he served as president of the group with first vice president

Lafayette M. Hershaw Lafayette M. Hershaw (May 10, 1863 – September 2, 1945) was a journalist, lawyer, and a clerk and law examiner for the General Land Office of the United States Department of the Interior. He was a key intellectual figure among African Americ ...

and second vice president R. W. Thompson. He was also involved in the black branch of the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of the District of Columbia, serving on the board of directors in 1919. Also in 1919, Singleton along with

Henry Lassiter Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

, L. M. Hershaw,

Archibald Grimké Archibald Henry Grimké (August 17, 1849 – February 25, 1930) was an American lawyer, intellectual, journalist, diplomat and community leader in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He graduated from freedmen's schools, Lincoln University in Pe ...

, and Robert H. Terrell was a prime mover in the introduction by Congressman

Martin B. Madden Martin Barnaby Madden (March 21, 1855 – April 27, 1928) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. He belonged to the Republican Party. As of 2020, he is the last non-African American to serve as a representative for Illinois's 1st congress ...

of a law (H.R. No. 376) to abolish the "Jim Crow" car. The Madden Amendment to the Esch–Cummins Act failed. At the time of his death in 1933, he was president of the Banneker Relief Association, which provided financial support to poor members and assisted with burial fees, of which he had been an officer since the 1900s"Officers Banneker Relief Association". Washington Bee (Washington (DC), District of Columbia). Saturday, December 19, 1908. Volume: XXIX Issue: 30 Page: 5

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singleton, Walter, J Nebraska Republicans People from Omaha, Nebraska African-American life in Omaha, Nebraska Activists for African-American civil rights 1933 deaths