George Benjamin Murphy Jr. (1906–1986) was an American newspaper editor, journalist, publicist, advertiser, and civil rights leader in Maryland and Washington, D.C.. He was born into a prominent Black family which published, the ''

Baltimore Afro-American The ''Baltimore Afro-American'', commonly known as ''The Afro'' or ''Afro News'', is a weekly African-American newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the flagship newspaper of the ''AFRO-American'' chain and the longest-running Africa ...

''. Murphy Jr. worked as

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

at ''

The Washington Afro-American ''The Washington Afro-American'' newspaper is the Washington, D.C., edition of '' The Afro-American Newspaper''. History The newspaper was founded in 1892 by Civil War veteran Sgt. John H. Murphy, Sr. Murphy merged his church publication, ''Th ...

.'' Murphy Jr. was active in the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

, and the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

Early life and family

George B. Murphy Jr. was born in 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was George B. Murphy Sr. (1870–1955), was an educator. His paternal grandfather was John H. Murphy Sr. (1840–1922), who was formerly enslaved and became a prominent newspaper publisher. His brother was William H. Murphy Sr. (1917–2003), a noted lawyer and judge. Murphy Jr. attended Douglass High School in Baltimore. He graduated in 1926 from

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Career

After graduation, he worked briefly as an English teacher. Around 1927, Murphy Jr. visited the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

(USSR), and published an article in the New World Review, Vol. 39, No. 3. He later published the same content as a fourteen page pamphlet titled, ''Black Delegation Visits the USSR.'' Murphy Jr. was one of the founders of the ''Hands Across, the World Friendship Society,'' an organization that sponsored tours of the USSR for African Americans during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1932, the committee Ford–Foster Committee for Equal Negro Rights was formed by

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

African Americans, led by William N. Jones, and including Murphy Jr.,

Countee Cullen Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter; May 30, 1903 – January 9, 1946) was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright, particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Childhood Countee LeRoy Porter ...

, Eugene Gordon, and others, who publicly denounced the Republican and Democratic parties for their African American policies. They supported the

candidate ticket,

William Z. Foster William Z. Foster (born William Edward Foster; February 25, 1881 – September 1, 1961) was a radical American labor organizer and Communist politician, whose career included serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1945 to ...

for United States president and

James W. Ford James W. “Jim” Ford (December 22, 1893June 21, 1957) was an activist, a politician, and the vice-presidential candidate for the Communist Party USA in the years 1932, 1936, and 1940. Ford was born in Alabama and later worked as a party o ...

, for vice president. In the 1940s, Murphy Jr, became actively involved with the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP) in Washington, D.C., where he worked a publicist, and was outspoken about civil rights issues. During World War II, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, and was stationed in the Pacific. In 1952, he was a co-chair for the

American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born was the successor group to the National Council for the Protection of the Foreign Born and its successor, seen by the US federal government as subversive for "protecting foreign Communists who ...

, a Communist

front group A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...

Death and archives

He died of a stroke on November 29, 1986, at

Howard University Hospital Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in Washington, D.C., built on the site of Griffith Stadium, a former professional baseball stadium that served as the home field of the Washington ...

in Washington, D.C. Murphy Jr.'s pamphlet titled ''Black Delegation Visits the USSR'' (1970s), has a copy in the Smithsonian's

National Museum of African American History The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 an ...

in Washington, D.C..

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

has an archive of Murphy Jr.'s papers; and the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

Libraries hold letters written by Murphy Jr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy Jr., George B. 1906 births 1986 deaths 20th-century African-American military personnel 20th-century American newspaper editors African-American male writers American civil rights activists American newspaper editors American publicists Dickinson College alumni Journalists from Baltimore Murphy family United States Army personnel of World War II

Early life and family

Career

Death and archives

See also

References