Ada Crogman Franklin (1886 – December 24, 1983) was an American playwright, journalist, educator, and publisher of '' The Kansas City Call'' newspaper from 1955 to 1983.

Early life and education

Ada Crogman was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, the daughter of William H. Crogman and Lavinia Mott Crogman. Her father was born on Saint Martin, in the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

. She graduated from

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

, where her father was the president and professor of Latin and Greek. She pursued further studies in oratory at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

in Massachusetts. The Crogman family were active in education. Her sister Charlotte was a missionary, writer and editor; she married sociologist, clergyman and college president Richard R. Wright Jr. Another sister, Edith, married Robert Nathaniel Brooks, a clergyman, educator, and college president. Charlotte's daughter Ruth Wright Hayre was a philanthropist and school superintendent in Philadelphia.

Career

Crogman taught at

Alabama State College Alabama State University (ASU, Bama State, or Alabama State) is a public historically Black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, during the Reconstruction era, it was one of about 180 " normal schools" established by state gove ...

and

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

as a young woman. As dramatics specialist for the National Playground and Recreation Association and the Community Service League Inc., she wrote a popular musical pageant, ''Milestones of a Race'', and traveled to the cities where it was presented by local theatre groups. Another pageant by Franklin was titled ''Revel of the Seasons.'' Franklin also wrote for ''The Kansas City Call'', the newspaper her husband founded and published. After 1955, she was publisher of the paper, with Lucile Bluford as editor. "She was the true matriarch of black journalism in America," commented publisher Carlton Goodlett, on the occasion of Franklin's death.

Personal life

Ada Crogman married newspaper publisher Chester Arthur Franklin in 1925. They lived in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. She was widowed in 1955. She died in 1983, in her late nineties. Her papers are in the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City.

References

External links

A collection of photographs of Ada Crogman Franklin
from the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Ada Crogman 1886 births 1983 deaths American newspaper executives American women dramatists and playwrights Clark Atlanta University alumni Emerson College alumni Writers from Atlanta Journalists from Atlanta 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators