Clilan Bethany Powell (August 8, 1894 – September 22, 1977) was an American businessman who served as publisher of the ''

Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...

''.

Early life and medical career

Powell was born on August 8, 1894, in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

. He received his medical degree from

Howard University College of Medicine The Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM) is an academic division of Howard University that grants the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Ph.D., M.S., and the M.PH. HUCM is located at the Howard University Health Sciences Center in Washington, D ...

in 1920 and served his internship at

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

. He was a member of the staff of

Harlem Hospital Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 282-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded on April 18, 1887. ...

for 8 years and started his private practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1921. He was one of the first African-American doctors to specialize in X-rays and ran an X-ray practice in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

for 25 years.

Business career

In 1922, Powell helped found the Victory Mutual Life Insurance Company, a black-owned life insurance company led by

Anthony Overton Anthony Overton Jr. (March 18, 1864 – July 2, 1946), was an American banker and manufacturer. He was the first African American to lead a major business conglomerate.Harvard Business School. American Business Leaders of the Twentieth CenturyAnt ...

. He became first vice president of the company in 1934 and was promoted to president in 1940 following the death of Lacey Kirk Williams. In 1936, ''

The Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' credited Powell with turning the company around. Powell also served as the president of the Community Personal Finance Corporation (a personal loan provider) and the Brown Bomber Bread Company and owned four funeral homes. In 1936, Powell and Dr. Philip M. H. Savory purchased the ''Amsterdam News'' at bankruptcy auction. They paid $5,000 and agreed to take on over $30,000 of the paper's $42,000 debt. According to Powell, they acquired the paper chiefly to promote their other businesses. In 1959, Savory and Powell signed a Buy–sell agreement which allowed Powell to take full ownership of the paper upon Savory's death in 1965. In 1971 he sold the paper to a group led by

Percy Sutton Percy Ellis Sutton (November 24, 1920 – December 26, 2009) was an American political and business leader. An activist in the Civil Rights Movement and lawyer, he was also a Freedom Rider and the legal representative for Malcolm X. He was ...

and

Clarence B. Jones Clarence Benjamin Jones (born January 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and the former personal counsel, advisor, draft speech writer and close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's hig ...

. In 1940, Powell was nominated for president of the Negro National League. After a three-week deadlock between the supporters of Powell and incumbent President Tom Wilson,

Alex Pompez Alejandro "Alex" Pompez (May 3, 1890 – March 14, 1974) was an American executive in Negro league baseball who owned the Cuban Stars (East) and New York Cubans franchises from 1916 to 1950. His family had emigrated from Cuba, where his father ...

was able to negotiate an agreement between the two sides that saw Wilson and the other league officers retain their jobs.

Politics

Powell was an outspoken Democrat and his paper backed

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in the

1936 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1936. In the midst of the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression, the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...

. During the 1936 and

1940 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 1940. The History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt and United States ...

s, Powell served as the publicity director for the Negro Division of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. He left the Democratic party over the issue of

Racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces A series of policies were formerly issued by the U.S. military which entailed the Racial segregation in the United States, segregation of white and non-white American soldiers, prohibitions on the recruitment of people of color and restrictions ...

and his belief that a Republican administration offered more hope for African-American advancement. In 1943, Republican

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in 1944 and ...

appointed Powell to the

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York ...

. He was the first African-American and the first physician to ever serve on the commission. As an athletic commissioner, Powell supported cracking down on boxers who delayed accepting challenges for their titles and promoters who associated with known criminals. During the

1944 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 1944. The election took place during World War II which ended the following year. The History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticke ...

he served as assistant publicity directory for the Dewey- Bricker campaign.

Death

Powell died on September 22, 1977, at his home in

Briarcliff Manor, New York Briarcliff Manor () is a suburban village in Westchester County, New York, north of New York City. It is on of land on the east bank of the Hudson River, geographically shared by the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining. Briarcliff Manor inc ...

. He was survived by his wife, Lena Dukes Powell. He was buried in

Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, C. B. 1894 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century African-American physicians 20th-century American physicians African-American publishers (people) American businesspeople in insurance Bellevue Hospital physicians Burials at Kensico Cemetery New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Republicans New York state athletic commissioners People from Briarcliff Manor, New York People from Harlem People from Newport News, Virginia New York Amsterdam News people