Adolphus Dyonisius Griffin (June 11, 1868 – June 2, 1916) was an American newspaper editor and publisher in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

who focused on African-American causes, including disenfranchisement in business and politics. Also known as A. D. Griffin, he founded ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938),credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published work by many of the chief politi ...

'', Portland's first

Black newspaper Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

, in 1896. He was friends with

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

and participated in the Portland chapter of the National Afro-American Council. He was also an investor in real estate.

Life

Griffin was born June 11, 1868, in

Kingston, Louisiana Kingston is an unincorporated community in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississi ...

. His parents, Fannie and Tillman Griffin, were farmers. At age 20, he moved to California. Griffin was married to Emma K. Griffin, whom he left in 1907 when he moved to Topeka, Kansas. He later moved to Kansas City, where he died of heart failure in his office on June 2, 1916. He was buried in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Career

While he lived in California, Griffin helped with starting the ''

California Eagle ''The California Eagle'' (1879–1964) was a newspaper in Los Angeles for African Americans. It was founded as ''The Owl'' in 1879 and later renamed ''Eagle'' by John J. Neimore. Charlotta Bass became the owner of the paper after Neimore's death ...

'' (Los Angeles). When he moved to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, he became an editor for . He moved to Portland, Oregon in 1896, where he started ''The New Age'', an eight-page weekly newspaper he published from 1899 to 1907. This was the first newspaper for Portland's roughly 700 black residents. He also started land development company Enterprise Investment Company. In addition to its historical importance for articles on issues facing the black population, ''The New Age'' is unique since African-Americans were excluded by the constitution of the state of Oregon during the time the newspaper was published. He was elected as a Republican delegate to the Oregon state convention twice. In

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, he worked as an editor for and as a city detective. In 1913, Griffin became a trustee and board president for Western University, a

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Quindaro, Kansas Quindaro Townsite was once a settlement, then a ghost town, and later an archaeological site. It is around North 27th Street and the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks in Kansas City, Kansas. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Pla ...

. In 1916 in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, he started .

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Adolphus D. 1868 births 1916 deaths African-American businesspeople African-American publishers (people) Journalists from Louisiana People from DeSoto Parish, Louisiana 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century African-American people