The CLEVELAND JOURNAL came into existence on 21 Mar. 1903, with the intention of providing an organ for African American business interests. Among the businessmen who founded the weekly were Welcome T. Blue, president of the Journal Publishing Co., and Nahum Daniel Brascher, who edited it during most of its existence. Republican in its politics, the Journal was a vigorous supporter of the self-help racial philosophy of black educator Booker T. Washington. Evidently prosperous for a time, the Journal expanded to 8 pages early in its second year. On 25 Feb. 1905, it published a 16-page "Woman's Edition," written and edited by members of the City Fed. of Colored Women's Clubs. Each year it celebrated its anniversary by sponsoring a public reception in one of Cleveland's black churches. Located originally in the American Trust Bldg. on PUBLIC SQUARE, it later moved to the black business district on Central Ave. While shunning the militant posture of the rival CLEVELAND GAZETTE, the Journal was not complacent on racial issues. In 1909 the paper's vice-president, THOS. W. FLEMING, became the first black elected to Cleveland City Council, while Brascher was made a city storekeeper. Political success did not ensure economic survival, however, as the Journal ceased publication in 1912.
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