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Claude Barnett was born on September 16, 1889. He was an African American journalist and entrepreneur who is often regarded as the father of the Negro Press.
From Sanford, Fla., Claude Albert Barnett moved to Illinois to live with relatives when he was very young. In 1906, he received an engineering degree from Tuskegee Institute. In 1919, he founded the Associated Negro Press (ANP). By 1935, the ANP was serving over 200 subscribers across the country and after WW II, its membership grew to include more than 100 African American newspapers. During World War II, Barnett and other black journalists pressured the U. S. government to accredit black journalists as war correspondents.
He was a member of the Tuskegee board of directors until 1965. He held a similar post with the American Red Cross, Chicago’s Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company, and was president of the board of directors of Provident Hospital. The ANP ceased operating after Barnett died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1967. He was 78.
The Akosua Report: Facts on The African Diaspora, is written by Akosua Lowery. Follow her on Twitter @AkosuaLowery.
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