Gurley Brewer
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Gurley Brewer (1866–1919) was an American attorney, newspaper publisher, and political activist. Brewer is best remembered as the editor of the ''Indianapolis World,'' one of the first
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
newspapers in the state of
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
.


Biography


Early years

Gurley Brewer was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
in 1866, the son of Edward Brewer, a
barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...
, and his wife. Mary. "Gurley Brewer, Gifted Colored Man, Is Dead,"
''Richmond NItem,'' April 2, 1919, pg. 2.
The family moved to the town of
Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...
when Gurley was a small boy. Brewer was a graduate of
Wilberforce University Wilberforce University (WU) is a private university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is one of three historically black universities established before the American Civil War. Founded in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC), it is named after ...
, a historically black college affiliated with the
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...
, located in
Wilberforce, Ohio Wilberforce is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,410 at the 2020 census. History After Wilberforce University was established in 1856, the community was also named for the English stat ...
."Colored Man Admitted to Practice,"
''Indianapolis News,'' Feb. 11, 1890, pg. 1.
He graduated with honors in 1888."First of the Kind in That Section,"
''Indianapolis Journal,'' Feb. 12, 1890, pg. 2.


Career

A talented public speaker, in 1888 Brewer toured the state of Indiana on behalf of Republican Presidential candidate
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...
at the request of the Indiana Republican State Central Committee. Brewer would regularly speak on behalf of the Republican Party during political campaign season for the rest of his life. Brewer was admitted to the Indiana state bar as a practicing attorney in February 1890, becoming the first African-American man ever admitted to bar in Southern Indiana. He opened up a practice in his hometown of
Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...
. Brewer also served as the principal of the segregated "colored schools" of Mt. Vernon, Indiana from 1894 to 1897. In 1900 Brewer was named Deputy State Historian of Indiana.Vincent Saunders, "The Horizon," ''The Crisis,'' vol. 18, no. 2, whole no. 104 (June 1919), pg. 103. He was also a Deputy State Statistician in that year and was elected an alternate delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention. From the first years of the 20th Century Brewer was editor of the '' Indianapolis World,'' one of the first black newspapers in the state of Indiana. Brewer frequently took a conservative editorial line, in editorializing in 1903 in favor of the Negro Business League, a group formed in Indianapolis to remove disaffected and unemployed blacks from the community, with a view to assuaging troubled race relations. In July 1903 Brewer publicly declared:
It is very easy to determine who the shiftless, worthless negroes are, for they are found almost altogether in the Indiana Avenue district. Agents of the Negro Business League will make inquiry concerning them, and those who will not work will be reported to the authorities with a request that they be driven out of town.
Brewer became co-publisher of the ''World'' with Alexander Manning in 1904, remaining at the helm until 1912. In this capacity he was active in the National Negro Press Association, of which he was elected Second Vice President in 1913. A staunch supporter of the Republican Party, Brewer backed the conservative
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
in the controversial 1912 election against the progressive campaign of former Republican President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
. Early in 1919 Brewer was named Indiana Deputy State Oil Inspector.


Death and legacy

Gurley Brewer died at his home in Indianapolis of a heart attack on March 30, 1919. He was 53 years old at the time of his death. A memorial service was held for Brewer on April 4, 1919, a gathering addressed by prominent Republicans including Indiana Governor James P. Goodrich and Indianapolis Mayor Charles W. Jewett."Colored Boys Join Parade," ''Indianapolis Star,'' May 4, 1919, pg. 70.


Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Gurley 1866 births 1919 deaths Wilberforce University alumni People from Vincennes, Indiana People from Indianapolis Indiana Republicans American newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century African-American lawyers