| Dates: | 1922-1972 |
| Size: | 1 linear foot |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, 9525 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, Illinois 60628 |
|
Collection Number: |
2010/06 |
| Provenance: | Donated by Theodore Kornweibel in July 2010 |
| Access: | No restrictions |
| Citation: |
When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Chandler Owen Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature |
| Processed by: | Beverly A. Cook, June 2021 |
Biographical Note
Chandler Owen (1889-1967) was born in Warrenton, North Carolina. After graduating from Virginia Union University in 1913, he moved to New York City to become a fellow at the National Urban League and enrolled in Columbia University. In 1916, he met A. Philip Randolph and joined the Socialist Party of America. Owen and Randolph founded the socialist journal, the Messenger in 1917. The Messenger published political commentaries, advocated trade unions and published literature of the New Negro Movement.
The Messenger folded in 1928 and Owen moved to Chicago to become managing editor of the Chicago Bee. Although he and Randolph would remain lifelong friends, he dropped out of the Socialist Party of America and joined the Republican Party. He wrote pamphlets and speeches to encourage Black voters to join the Republican Party while advising Republicans on how to win the Black vote. Owen ran for a seat in the House of Representatives in 1928 but lost to Oscar DePriest who became the first African American from a northern state elected to Congress.
By 1942, Owen owned his own public relations firm and was commissioned by the United States Office of War Information to write a pamphlet, Negroes and the War, to encourage African Americans to support the war effort. He continued to write speeches for prominent Republicans including Presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie and Thomas Dewey and later Democrat Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson. Chandler Owen died in 1967.
Sources
- Dictionary of American Negro Biography, edited by Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston, Norton, 1982
- Kornweibel, Theodore. No Crystal Stair: Black Life and the Messenger, 1917-1928
- Owen, Chandler. Negroes and the War, [Washington, 1942]
Scope and Content
This collection was donated by Theodore Kornweibel, who taught Africana Studies at San Diego State University from 1977-2006. Kornweibel collected and wrote articles on A. Philip Randolph, Chandler Owen and the Messenger. There are original typescripts of some of Owen’s speeches and essays. Kornweibel also included commentaries and explanatory notes for the included manuscripts. They are located in the back of each folder. Kornweibel wrote the biography of Chandler Owen in the Dictionary of American Negro Biography and explored Chandler’s writings in No Crystal Stair: Black Life and the Messenger, 1917-1928.
Arrangement
This collection has three series: Manuscripts (1941-1964, undated); Correspondence (1922-1972, undated) and Pamphlets (1940-1950s). All series are in chronological order.
Related Materials
Related materials at the Chicago Public Library include:
- Charles A. Hayes Papers
- Herbert Hill Papers
- Illinois Writers Project: “Negro in Illinois” Papers
- Rev. Addie and Rev. Claude Wyatt Papers
- Victoria Starr Papers
Related materials at other institutions include:
- Dr. Theodore Kornweibel Jr Collection at California State University
Container List
Series 1: Manuscripts, 1941-1964, undated
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Owen, Chandler. “What will happen to the Negro if Hitler wins,” Norfolk Journal and Guide, 1941 December 12 |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | Owen, Chandler. “Lincoln Day Address,” 1945 February 12 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | Owen, Chandler. “How to Secure Full Employment in America,” circa 1945 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | Owen, Chandler. “The American Negro Purchasing Power,” 1948 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Owen, Chandler. “A Program to Combat Russia’s Appeal to the Colored People of the World,” circa 1950s |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | Owen, Chandler. “Cause of Crime and Court Clogging,” 1958 [written for the Honorable Warren E. Wright] |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | Owen, Chandler. “Integration,” circa 1960s [speech written for A.. .Rayner] |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | Owen, Chandler. “Reorganizing the Republican Party,” circa 1960 |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | Owen, Chandler. “The Republican Party and the Negro Today,” circa 1960s |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | Owen, Chandler. “An Appeal to the Common Sense of the American Negro Voter in 1964, circa 1960s |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | Owen, Chandler. “A New Appeal to Bring More Negro Votes into the Republican Party,” circa 1960s |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | Owen, Chandler. “White Friends of the Negro,” circa 1960s |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | Owen, Chandler. “New Program of Education,” circa 1963 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | Owen, Chandler. “What can the Negro Expect from the Republican Party,” circa 1963 |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | Owen, Chandler. “The Amazing Afro-Nigerian Market,” 1963 November 25 |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 | Owen, Chandler. “Another Look at America’s Two Political Parties,” 1964 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 | Owen, Chandler. “The Negro Voter,” 1964 |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 | Owen, Chandler. “Douglas, Dunbar, Ingersoll,” undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 | Owen, Chandler. “LBJ,” undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 | Owen, Chandler. “A Place and a Program for better American Youth and a Palace of Recreation for Interracial Youth,” undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 | Owen, Chandler. “Practicality vs Idealism,” undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 22 | Owen, Chandler. “What an Alderman Should Do?” undated |
Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1972, undated
| Box 1 | Folder 23 | Owen, Chandler to John Fitzpatrick, 1922 April 7 |
| Box 1 | Folder 24 | Owen, Chandler to John Fitzpatrick, 1923 February 23 |
| Box 1 | Folder 25 | Randolph, A. Philip to M.P. Webster, 1928 June 27 |
| Box 1 | Folder 26 | Randolph, A. Philip to M.P. Webster, 1928 August 27 |
| Box 1 | Folder 27 | Randolph, A. Philip to Sir George Campbell, 1941 June 28 |
| Box 1 | Folder 28 | Randolph, A. Philip to Chandler Owen, 1941 December 10 |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | Vandenberg, Arthur to Chandler Owen, 1942 February 28 |
| Box 1 | Folder 30 | Wilkie, Wendell to Chandler Owen, 1942 March 4 |
| Box 1 | Folder 31 | Houchins, Joseph to Chandler Owen, 1942 April 30 |
| Box 1 | Folder 32 | Blayne, Ned to Henry Pringle, 1942 August 12 |
| Box 1 | Folder 33 | Wilkie, Wendell to Chandler Owen, 1943 July 30 |
| Box 1 | Folder 34 | Owen, Chandler, 1944 April 10 |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Schuyler, George, 1950 November 1 |
| Box 1 | Folder 36 | Streit, Clarence, 1950 November 7 |
| Box 1 | Folder 37 | Harris, Abram L., 1950 November 10 |
| Box 1 | Folder 38 | Kirksey, Thomas, 1950 December 16 |
| Box 1 | Folder 39 | Rivers, Francis E., circa 1950 |
| Box 1 | Folder 40 | Dirksen, Everett to Chandler Owen, 1950 December 24 |
| Box 1 | Folder 41 | Owen, Chandler to Clarence Streit, 1954 July 17 |
| Box 1 | Folder 42 | Owen, Chandler to Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1962 July 20 |
| Box 1 | Folder 43 | Owen, Chandler to Louis Martin, 1964 September 11 |
| Box 1 | Folder 44 | Owen, Chandler to Vantage Press, 1964 September 24 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | Kornweibel, Theodore to Perry Thompson, 1972 |
| Box 1 | Folder 46 | Jefferson, Joseph and Perry Thompson to Theodore Kornweibel, 1972 August 12 |
| Box 1 | Folder 47 | Anthony, Harold to Theodore Kornweibel, 1972 September 6 |
| Box 1 | Folder 48 | Carey, Archibald J. to Theodore Kornweibel, 1972 September 14 |
| Box 1 | Folder 49 | O’Brien, Laurence, undated |
Series 3: Pamphlets, 1940-1950s
| Box 1 | Folder 50 | An Appeal to the Common Sense of Colored Citizens, 1940 [distributed by the Republican National Committee] |
| Box 1 | Folder 51 | Ketchum, Alton. The Miracle of America, circa 1950s |
