Dallas Express

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The Dallas Express was a weekly newspaper published in Dallas, Texas (USA) from 1892 to 1970. It covered news of blacks in Dallas and a large portion of Texas. It called itself "The South's Oldest and Largest Negro Newspaper."

W. E. King founded the Express and operated it until he died in 1919. In 1930, experiencing financial difficulties, it was acquired by Southwestern Negro Press, which was controlled by Travis Campbell, a white man who had been the printer for the Express and who purchased the paper to keep it in business. In February 1938 it was acquired by black leaders A. Maceo Smith, an insurance executive and secretary of the Negro Chamber of Commerce; Rev. Maynard Jackson, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church; Dr. E. E. Ward, a physician; Henry Strickland, president of Excelsior Life Insurance Co.; and C. F. Starkes, president of Peoples Undertaking.

The Express publicized lynchings and incidents of violence against blacks that were not always reported in the white press, attacked racial segregation and voting restrictions, and in the 1930s urged establishment of "Negro day" and construction of the Hall of Negro Life at the State Fair of Texas, held in Dallas. Even while under white ownership in the 1930s, the Express was an ardent supporter of and advocate for the black community. It became more vocal after its 1938 acquisition by black leaders and campaigned for federally funded public housing, improved quality of black education in public schools, elimination of pay discrimination between black and white teachers, and the hiring of black police officers in Dallas. It published photographs of black slum conditions with its campaign promoting public housing, a somewhat shocking use of graphics for the times.

[edit] References

Cox, Patrick. The First Texas News Barons. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. ISBN 0-292-70977-3.
Payne, Darwin. Big D: Triumphs and Troubles of an American Supercity in the 20th Century. Dallas: Three Forks Press, 2000. ISBN 1-893451-04-6.