Research Catalog

John Edward Bruce papers: additions

Title
John Edward Bruce papers: additions, 1888-1918.
Author
Bruce, John Edward, 1856-1924.
Supplementary Content
Finding aid

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StatusContainerFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
folder 1Mixed materialUse in library Sc MG 253 folder 1Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives

Details

Additional Authors
  • Aggrey, James Emman Kwegyir, 1875-1927.
  • Perry, Rufus L. (Rufus Lewis), 1833 or 4-1895.
  • Scott, Emmett J. (Emmett Jay), 1873-1957.
  • Trotter, William Monroe, 1872-1934.
  • Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, inc.
Description
44 items (1 folder)
Summary
Collection consists of papers relating to the personal and professional life of John Edward Bruce.
Donor/Sponsor
Schomburg NEH Automated Access to Special Collections Project.
Subject
  • Bruce, John Edward, 1856-1924
  • African American journalists
  • African American authors
  • African American newspapers
  • Editors > United States
  • Journalism > United States
Source (note)
  • Bruce Family
Biography (note)
  • John Edward Bruce, journalist, historian, editor and co-founder of the "Association for the Study of Negro Life and History."
Processing Action (note)
  • Accessioned
  • processed
  • Cataloged
Call Number
Sc MG 253
OCLC
NYPW086000049-A
Author
Bruce, John Edward, 1856-1924.
Title
John Edward Bruce papers: additions, 1888-1918.
Biography
John Edward Bruce, journalist, historian, editor and co-founder of the "Association for the Study of Negro Life and History." Born a slave in Maryland in 1856, Bruce and his mother settled in Washington, D.C. after being freed from slavery. Bruce was self-educated, his formal education was minimal, however, he was well read and wrote prolifically on various political and cultural subjects.
In 1874, Bruce became a general helper for the "New York Times" Washington office and also began writing for black newspapers. For over fifty years he wrote for more than twenty black newspapers, and some of his columns appeared in white newspapers such as the "New York Times" and the "Washington Evening Star." His articles also appeared in black publications in England, the West Indies and West and South Africa.
One of the earliest black nationalists, and militant journalists, Bruce extolled the virtues, beauty and heritage of the black race, urged avoidance of integration, and demanded full equality with whites. He was known by the pseudonym, "Bruce Grit," which he adopted while writing for the Cleveland "Gazette" and the "New York Age."
An editor before he was twenty-five, Bruce founded the "Argus," a weekly newspaper in Washington D.C., 1879; the "Sunday Item," 1880; and the "Washington Grit," 1884. He was editor of the "Republican" of Norfolk, Va., 1882; assistant editor of the "Commonwealth" of Baltimore, Md., 1884; and associate editor of "Howard's American Magazine" from 1896 to 1901. Around 1900 he settled in Albany, New York and later in New York City and Yonkers (N.Y.). He co-founded the New York City "Chronicle" in 1877; the Yonkers "Weekly Standard" in 1908; and edited the "Masons Quarterly" in New York City.
In 1919, Bruce joined the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and became a regular columnist for the UNIA's newspaper "Negro World." Bruce was also a popular speaker, the author of two books--"Short Biographical Sketches of Eminent Negro Men and Women in Europe and the United States" (1901) and "The Awakening of Hezikiah Jones" (1916) and many pamphlets. In 1924 Bruce died and was eulogized by more than 5,000 UNIA members, foreign dignitaries and Freemasons.
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Finding aid
Added Author
Aggrey, James Emman Kwegyir, 1875-1927.
Perry, Rufus L. (Rufus Lewis), 1833 or 4-1895.
Scott, Emmett J. (Emmett Jay), 1873-1957.
Trotter, William Monroe, 1872-1934.
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, inc.
Research Call Number
Sc MG 253
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