Jesse Lee Albritton Papers

Dates: 1938-1965
Size: 1.25 linear feet (3 archival boxes)
Repository: Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library (Chicago Public Library), 9525 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60628

Collection

Number:

2010/04
Provenance: Donation of Marie B. Albritton, July 2010
Access: No restrictions
Citation:

When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is:

Jesse Lee Albritton Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature

Processed by: Processed by CLIR funded Black Metropolis Research Consortium “Color Curtain Processing Project.” by Emily Minehart and Beth Loch. Supervised by Beverly A. Cook, Harsh Research Collection

Biographical/Historical Note

Jesse Lee Albritton was born on April 25, 1911 in Fairfax, Georgia to Hilda Rose and Thomas Y. Albritton. He completed elementary school and attended various other schools without receiving any certificate. He continuously spoke out about the poor living conditions in which his family lived, and eventually left home on his own to seek a better life. In 1937 he moved to St. Louis, Missouri and began working on the St. Louis Argus Newspaper. He met Ida Marie Bonner and they married after a brief courtship. The couple then moved to Chicago.

Albritton’s first job upon moving to Chicago was selling advertisements for the Chicago Defender Newspaper. While working at the paper, he met union labor leaders, including Mr. Paul Dorfman of the Waste Material Handler’s Union, which was under the jurisdiction of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Dorfman introduced Albritton to the ALF leadership, where Albritton became involved in union organizing. In 1942 he was promoted in the union and began writing his column, “Color in the News,” for the AFL paper Federation News. The column ran throughout the 1940s. He took a brief interruption from this position when he entered the military service during WWII. Albritton also offered news commentary for the CFL’s radio station, WCFL, and early commercial television station WBKB.

Under the guidance of Mr. Nubian J. Conley, of Conley and Conley Printing, then located at 63rd and Rhodes, and Leo Foster Printing, Albritton learned the printing business. He worked with Leo Foster to publish a magazine, Club Life. The publication covered the social life of clubs and organizations of African Americans in the Chicago area. The dates for Albritton’s work on Club Life and in the printing business are unclear, but the business appears to have been active in the mid-1950s, about the same time he was working in Senator Dirksen’s office. Jesse Lee Albritton was a WWII army veteran, salesman, labor movement organizer, and a member of the Elks, Shriners, and the Prince Hall Eureka Lodge. In June 1964, Albritton died unexpectedly in a fishing trip accident on Lake Michigan. His body was found 18 days later; the cause of death was drowning. At the time of his death, he was a Cook County Deputy Sheriff.

Sources
Nathan Godfried. WCFL, Chicago’s Voice of Labor, 1926-78. Urbana: University of

Illinois Press, 1997.

Scope and Content Note

The Jesse Lee Albritton Papers are divided into three series: biography, manuscripts and photographs which include materials related to his work as a journalist, publisher, and public figure. It spans the years 1938-2005; the bulk of the collection consists of a scrapbook, political sketches, newspaper clippings, speeches, correspondence, and records relating to Albritton’s death.

The scrapbook contained in the collection is comprised of Albritton’s “Color in the News” column from the Federation Newspaper, spanning the dates 1942-1949. Also included in the collection are political sketches, including political cartoons of Illinois politicians, as well as one of Bobby Kennedy. The newspaper clippings also contain some photos of Albritton with figures like Jesse Owens, as well as articles about his sudden death. Albritton also collected copies of “The Daily Sports Page,” a daily sports publication, of which the collection has materials from July and August of 1960. This collection provides a window into the fields of politics and journalism in the 1940s and 1950s. Albritton’s interest in sports, especially baseball highlights the pivotal role African American sports’ discrimination played in the early Civil Rights movement. The photographs within this collection include a number of Chicago area and national political figures. Most of the photographs are undated.

Arrangement 

Papers are divided into three series: Series 1: Biography, 1938-1965 is in chronological order; Series 2: Manuscripts, 1942-1960; Series 3: Photographs, 1946-1962, undated are in the original donor’s order.

Related Materials

Container List

Series 1: Biography, 1938-1965

Box 1 Folder 1 Correspondence, 1938, 1956
Box 1 Folder 2 Newspaper clippings, 1961- 1965
Box 1 Folder 3 Death related materials, 1964 June

Series 2: Manuscripts, 1942-1960

Box 1 Folder 4 Scrapbook “ Color in the News,” 1942-1949 (See oversize Box 2)
Box 1 Folder 5 Speeches/articles, 1956
Box 1 Folder 6 Political Sketches, 1956 (See oversize Box 2)
Box 1 Folder 7 Pamphlet, Spaceman on a mule, undated.
Box 1 Folder 8 Pamphlet, “Tired of Being Taken for Granted,” undated
Box 1 Folder 9 The Daily Sports Page, 1960
Box 1 Folder 10 Souvenir program, “East v. West,” 1952
    OVERSIZE MATERIALS
Box 2 Folder 1 Scrapbook “ Color in the News,” 1942-1949
Box 2 Folder 2 Political sketches, 1956

Series 3: Photographs, 1946-1962, undated

Box 3 Folder 1 Jesse Albritton at desk of labor union radio station WCFL, 1946
Box 3 Folder 2 Jesse and Marie Albritton, Duke Ellington and Dave Albritton, 1957. Photo by Charles Stewart Jr
Box 3 Folder 3 Emmet Bynd, 1957
Box 3 Folder 4 Jesse Albritton, and unidentified couple at Citizens Tribute to Harold E. Rainville, 1957. Photo by Charles Stewart (see Folder 28)
Box 3 Folder 5 Cook County Grand Jury, 1958 [Edward Person, Richard Stepek, Clinton Rood, Abraham Marovitz, Benjamin Adomwski, Frank Ferlic, Jack Johnson, Edward Vitek, Peter Markiano, Charles Holz, Sarah Dickerson, Lorraine Wimmer, Ella Hargrove, Faye Erb, Alice Bgan, Edwin Spiro, Peter Lavorata, James Balson, Daniel Spankie, Paul Brum, Herbert Goldsmith, Frank Baley, Clarence Mucha, Leonard House, Harry Hilton, Jesse Albritton, Irvin Simpson, Robert Scholle
Box 3 Folder 6 Eureka Lodge #64 F and M, undated. Photo by Gadabout Photographs
Box 3 Folder 7 Jesse Albritton, undated
Box 3 Folder 8 Jesse Albritton and Jesse Owens, undated
Box 3 Folder 9 Not yet identified
Box 3 Folder 10 Jesse Albritton, undated
Box 3 Folder 11 Everett M. Dirksen, undated
Box 3 Folder 12 Governor William Stratton, undated
Box 3 Folder 13 Corneal Davis, Dave Albritton, and Jesse Albritton, undated. Photo by Clifford J. Burress
Box 3 Folder 14 Paul Dorfman, Allan Dorfman and James Hoffa, circa 1950s
Box 3 Folder 15 Paul Dorfman, Allan Dorfman and James Hoffa, circa 1950s
Box 3 Folder 16 Jesse Albritton, Jesse Owens, Mayor Richard J Daley and Ralph Metcalfe, 1961
Box 3 Folder 17 Jesse Albritton, Jesse Owens, Mayor Richard J Daley and Ralph Metcalfe, 1961
Box 3 Folder 18 Clarice Parrish, Jesse Albritton and Governor William Stratton, circa 1956. Photo by Clifford Burress
Box 3 Folder 19 Truman Gibson and other unidentified guest at dinner, undated
Box 3 Folder 20 Jesse Albritton, Jesse Owens, Archibald Carey, and three unidentified people, undated
Box 3 Folder 21 Paul Hinds, Jesse Owens, Bobby Evans, Edward Daniels, Joseph Williams, Leslie Reynolds, Paul Carson, Billy Steele and Miles Davis, undated
Box 3 Folder 22 Paul Hinds, Jesse Owens, Bobby Evans, Edward Daniels, Joseph Williams, Leslie Reynolds, Paul Carson, Billy Steele and Miles Davis, undated
Box 3 Folder 23 Child being greeted by Santa Claus, undated
Box 3 Folder 24 Corneal Davis, Dave Albritton and Jesse Albritton, undated. Photo by Clifford Burress
Box 3 Folder 25 Jesse Albritton on boat docked at Riverside Boat Club, circa 1960s
Box 3 Folder 26 Jesse Albritton, woman and child on boat, circa 1960s
Box 3 Folder 27 Benjamin Mays, undated
Box 3 Folder 28 Eureka Lodge No. 64 F and M, undated. Photo by Alvin Pitts
Box 3 Folder 29 Tribute to Harold E. Rainville, 1957 [included in photograph are Archibald Carey and Jesse Albritton]
Box 3 Folder 30 Governor William Stratton, undated
Box 3 Folder 31 Mayor Edward Kelly and J. Patrick Nash, circa 1940s
Box 3 Folder 32 Hubert Humphrey in group of unidentified men, undated
Box 3 Folder 33 Jesse Albritton and Jesse Owens, undated. Photo by Fre-lan
Box 3 Folder 34 Hubert Humphrey, undated
Box 3 Folder 35 Richard Ogilvie and unidentified couple, circa 1962
Box 3 Folder 36 Truman Gibson and Nat King Cole, undated
Box 3 Folder 37 Everett Dirksen, undated
Box 3 Folder 38 Marie Albritton, undated
Box 3 Folder 39 Jesse Albritton, Edward Daniels, Virgil Pulliam, Robert Evans, Paul Carson, Bobbie Steele, Raymond Dudley and Miles Conley, undated
Box 3 Folder 40 Joseph A. Williams, Jewel Lafontant, Leslie Reynolds, Phil Hinds, Paul Carson, Edward Daniels, Kennth Holheim, Miles Davis, Robert Evans and Arthur Avant, undated
Box 3 Folder 41 Duke Ellington, Marie Albritton, Ivey Anderson and Jessie Albritton, undated
Box 3 Folder 42 Jesse Albritton at Citizen’s Tribute to Harold E Rainville, 1957 [Whitney Young at table]
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