As many of us are familiar with, Kansas City has a very rich publishing history. With the Kansas City Star, originally the Kansas City Evening Star, founded in 1880 by William Rockhill Nelson, it is still published in print today. KC has many neighborhood and community publications throughout the area and history as well. The Call, first published in 1919 by Chester A. Franklin, is a black community weekly newspaper still in print circulation in 2017. Before The Call, though, there was another black community newspaper—first published in 1908, The Kansas City Sun soon became one of the most prominent and influential African-American newspapers in the midwest.
The Sun was purchased by Nelson C. Crews in 1911 and he used the paper to promote his activities in the African-American community. For a mere 5 cents ($1.21 in today’s conversaion) you could get your hands on a copy of this weekly. According to the Library of Congress, via State Historical Society of Missouri:
“Nelson C. Crews purchased the Sun in 1911 and used the paper to promote his activities in the African American community. With the Sun as his vehicle, Crews helped organize a campaign to get a second hospital in Kansas City that would admit African American patients and allow black doctors to practice. Additionally, in 1921, he “launched a crusade for improvement” of schools in the area that served African-American students.
His editorials expressed his opposition to any proposals that increased segregation, and he and Charleton H. Tandy of the St. Louis Palladium were called to testify at a hearing before the Missouri House of Representatives against a bill which would require the separation of the races on public transportation.
His public profile and power gave Crews a great influence in Kansas City, but it also created some vocal opponents. Crews had an ongoing public feud with William T. Washington who was the editor of the Rising Son, another African-American newspaper in Kansas City. Crews had briefly worked for the Rising Son, and Washington accused him of attempting to become a political boss of the African American community due to his many speaking engagements and the power that he wielded through his editorials. This rivalry ended in 1914 after Crews purchased the Rising Son and ousted Washington as editor.
Even after acquiring another newspaper, Crews continued to publish the eight-page Kansas City Sun every Saturday for another decade. The last issue of the Sun appeared in 1924.”
The State Historical Society & the Library of Congress have made access to these historical documents possible and we plan to utilize these to bring Kansas City history to you!