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Ohio inventions and firsts · Achievement · 1920

Cleveland Call newspaper founded

The Cleveland Call began about 1920 with a group that included inventor Garrett Morgan; in 1927 it merged with the Cleveland Post to form the Call and Post.

At a glance

Year
1920
By
Garrett A. Morgan
Company
Cleveland Call (later Call and Post)
Place
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County

The story

Cleveland's Black community needed a newspaper that reported on its own life, from church events to politics. The Cleveland Call was one of the papers that did.

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History dates the Call to about 1920 and says it was begun by a group that included inventor Garrett A. Morgan. The Post began around the same time as the paper of a fraternal group, the Modern Crusaders of the World, and the two struggling weeklies merged in 1927. Wikipedia's article on the Call and Post gives 1916 for the Call and 1920 for the Post, with the merger about 1928, so the dates vary by source.

William Otis Walker became editor in 1932 and held the job until his death in 1981. The paper became, in Wikipedia's words, the most influential voice for African Americans in Cleveland and ultimately all of Ohio. It covered Larry Doby's integration of the Indians in 1947 closely.

The Call and Post went bankrupt in 1995 and was bought by promoter Don King in 1998. It is now a weekly based at 11800 Shaker Boulevard, serving Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Timeline

  • 1920: The Cleveland Call is founded by a group that includes Garrett Morgan (about this year; Wikipedia gives 1916 for the Call). (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1927: The Call and the Cleveland Post merge into the Call and Post (Wikipedia says about 1928). (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1932: W. O. Walker becomes editor. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1998: Don King buys the Call and Post. (Cleveland, OH) source

What it changed

  • Editor W. O. Walker led the paper for almost 50 years.
  • Weekly circulation reaches Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Why it matters

Long-lived Black newspaper.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.