Founder
Chester Arthur Franklin (1880–1955) founded The Call newspaper in May 1919. It was owned and operated by him until his death on May 7, 1955. Chester Franklin was born on June 7, 1880 as the only child of George F. Franklin, a barber, and Clara Belle Williams Franklin, a teacher. He was born at the time when African Americans were moving out of Texas in search of better educational opportunities for their children. His family later moved to Omaha and eventually to Denver where he worked for his father who owned local newspapers in both cities. Eventually Chester took over Denver’s The Star for his father- he printed, edited, and distributed the paper until 1913 when he decided to move to Kansas City. During this time Kansas City had a growing African American presence and he hoped he could start up a paper and have a larger audience within Kansas and Missouri. Upon his arrival, Franklin set up his own printing shop moved around the city a few times until he finally decided he would begin publishing his own paper. With his mother by his side, he launched The Call and sold copies for 5 cents with his mother peddling subscriptions door to door. Franklin had to completely teach himself how to use the Linotype machine because white union workers were not allowed to assist blacks. Despite the first couple years being rough, Franklin eventually learned the tricks of the trade and The Call became one of the six largest African American weeklies in the country and one of the largest black businesses in the Midwest. “During its first eight years, The Call grew steadily from a circulation of about 2,000 in 1919 to 16,737 in 1927, and then remained at that level until the late 1930s”. The newspaper employed (and still employs) many African Americans in the Kansas City community.
Read more about this topic: The Call (Kansas City)
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