Chandler Owen Papers
Scope and Contents
Chandler Owen was a writer, editor and labor activist who co-founded the radical socialist journal The Messenger with A. Philip Randolph. He later worked as managing editor of the Chicago Bee newspaper. This small group of papers includes original typescripts of several of Owen's speeches and essays.
Dates
- 1922-1972
Creator
- Owen, Chandler, 1889-1967 (author., Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions
Conditions Governing Use
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Biographical / Historical
Chandler Owen (1889-1967) was born in Warrenton, North Carolina. After graduating from Virginia Union University in 1913, he moved to New York City to become a fellow at the National Urban League and enrolled in Columbia University. In 1916, he met A. Philip Randolph and joined the Socialist Party of America. Owen and Randolph founded the socialist journal, the Messenger in 1917. The Messenger published political commentaries, advocated trade unions and published literature of the New Negro Movement.
The Messenger folded in 1928 and Owen moved to Chicago to become managing editor of the Chicago Bee. Although he and Randolph would remain lifelong friends, he dropped out of the Socialist Party of America and joined the Republican Party. He wrote pamphlets and speeches to encourage Black voters to join the Republican Party while advising Republicans on how to win the Black vote. Owen ran for a seat in the House of Representatives in 1928 but lost to Oscar DePriest who became the first African American from a northern state elected to Congress.
By 1942, Owen owned his own public relations firm and was commissioned by the United States Office of War Information to write a pamphlet, Negroes and the War, to encourage African Americans to support the war effort. He continued to write speeches for prominent Republicans including Presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie and Thomas Dewey and later Democrat Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson. Chandler Owen died in 1967.
Extent
1 Linear Feet (in 1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Chandler Owen was a writer, editor and labor activist who co-founded the radical socialist journal The Messenger with A. Philip Randolph. He later worked as managing editor of the Chicago Bee newspaper. This small group of papers includes original typescripts of several of Owen’s speeches and essays.
Arrangement
This collection has three series: Manuscripts, Correspondence, and Pamphlets.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Theodore Kornweibel in July 2010
- African American journalists -- Correspondence. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- African Americans -- Politics and government. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- African Americans -- Social conditions. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Essays. Subject Source: Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms
- Kornweibel, Theodore -- : Correspondence.
- Owen, Chandler, 1889-1967 -- : Archives.
- Owen, Chandler, 1889-1967 -- : Correspondence.
- Personal correspondence. Subject Source: Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms
- Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-1979 -- : Correspondence.
- Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
- Speeches. Subject Source: Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms
- Typescripts. Subject Source: TGM II, Genre and physical characteristic terms
Creator
- Owen, Chandler, 1889-1967 (author., Person)
- Kornweibel, Theodore (donor., Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Chandler Owen Papers
- Author
- Beverly A. Cook
- Date
- June 2021
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection Repository
Woodson Regional Library
Chicago Public Library
9525 S. Halsted Street
Chicago IL 60628 United States
(312) 745-2080
harshcollection@chipublib.org