"Cecil Newman" [July 25,1903-1976]

He was born in Kansas City,the grandson of former slaves from Tennessee and Missouri.His daddy (Haration Oscar Newman)worked as an attendant at a private white-owned and operated club.While a young child,Cecil sold newspapers to make extra change and worked in the office for the local African American newspaper,the Kansas City Call.Just before graduating from high school,he married Wila Coleman.After their first child (Oscar Haratio) was born,his family moved to Minneapolis.There Cecil worked as a Pullman porter and around 1927,he founded and wrote for the Twin Cities Hearald.In 1932,he published the Timely Digest a weekly magazine and in 1934,Cecil became editor and published of the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St.Paul Recorder.He remained owner and published until his death in 1976.In 1948,while in the newspaper business he became the first African American president of the Minneapolis Urban League.For over 50 years,his influence shaped opportunities for African Americans and provided them with a source of news and information not found in local white newspapers throughout the state.In 1965,Cecil received an honorary Doctorate of Law Degree from Allen University,South Carolina.