Lester Blackwell Granger (September 16, 1896 – January 1976) was an African American civic leader who organized the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

chapter of the

National Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

(NUL) and headed the league from 1941 to 1961.

Early life

Granger was born in Newport News, Virginia and was one of six sons. His mother was a teacher, and his father was a doctor from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

. He grew up in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1918. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He served in the US Army during World War I and worked briefly for the Newark chapter of the National Urban League.

Career

In 1922, Granger was an extension worker with the

Bordentown School The Bordentown School (officially titled the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth, the State of New Jersey Manual Training School and Manual Training and Industrial School for Youth, though other names were used over the years) ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

's state vocational school for African American youth, in Bordentown. In 1930, he organized the Los Angeles chapter of the

(NUL). In 1934, he led the organization's efforts to promote trade unionism among African-American workers and challenge racism by employers and labor organizations. In 1940, Granger became the NUL's assistant executive secretary in charge of industrial relations and continued to work to integrate racist

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s. In 1941, illness made the executive secretary of the NUL, Eugene Kinckle Jones, no longer able to carry out duties, and Granger was appointed as Jones' successor. During his first year as the leader of the NUL, Granger led its effort to support the March on Washington proposed by A. Philip Randolph,

Bayard Rustin Bayard Rustin (; March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an African American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington Movement, ...

and

A. J. Muste Abraham Johannes Muste ( ; January 8, 1885 – February 11, 1967) was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. He is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, pacifist movement, antiwar movement, and civil rights movemen ...

to protest racial discrimination in defense work and the armed forces. In 1945, he began working with the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

to desegregate the military, seeing first success with the Navy in February 1946. During the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

of the 1960s, he insisted that the NUL continue its strategy of "education and persuasion," which the NUL continued to support. Granger retired from the NUL in 1961 and joined the faculty of

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Among many other activities, he remained a leading figure in social work over the years, serving as president of the National Conference of Social Work in 1952. He was the first American citizen to serve in this capacity.

Death and legacy

Granger died in January 1976 in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

. The Tucker Foundation annually presents ''The Lester Granger 18 Award'' to a

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

graduate whose commitment to public service, social activism or nonprofit professions has been exemplary.Social Justice Awards
Dartmouth. Accessed 6 February 2016.

References

External links

*Th
Lester B. Granger Papers (1935-1961)
are held at 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 ...

Manuscript Division as part of th
National Urban League Records
(1910-1960). {{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Lester 1896 births 1976 deaths People from Newport News, Virginia People from Los Angeles Dartmouth College alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Dillard University faculty