Oral history interview with Jacques A. Beauchamp, 1971

 

Name
Beauchamp, Jacques A (Interviewee)
La Brie, Henry G (Interviewer)
Title
Oral history interview with Jacques A. Beauchamp, 1971
Other Titles
Reminiscences of Jacques A. Beauchamp : oral history, 1971
Abstract
In this interview, Beauchamp discusses: his experiences as a black southern newsman and Boy Scout organizer; his family and education in Houston and Prairie View, Texas; his coursework at Prairie View A&M, Tuskegee University, and Hampton University; the role of the black press and how it has changed since his introduction in the 1920s; and his experience teaching in Huntsville and Port Arthur, Tex as. Beauchamp describes the origins of the Port Arthur Review, his contributions to the Florida Sentinel Bulletin, and his tenure at the Memphis World. He recalls the challenges he faced as a black newspaper salesman and reporter, including the economic disadvantage of African American businesses and the hostility of local police departments. Beauchamp elaborates on: the costs and benefits of local and national news coverage; his work with Boulder Smith and the Boy Scouts of America; his travels across the Jim Crow era Deep South; and the significance of the Black press in the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Negro College Fund.
Collection Name
Black Journalists oral history collection
Subjects
Journalists; African American press; African American journalists; Newspapers--Circulation; Newspaper publishing--Economic aspects--United States; African Americans--Civil rights; Tampa (Fla.); Memphis (Tenn.); Beauchamp, Jacques A; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Boy Scouts of America
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
1971
Physical Description
sound files : digital preservation master, WAV files (96kHz, 24 bit); 47 pages
Note (Biographical)
Jacques A. Beauchamp (1895-1974) was a newspaper distributor, teacher, and Boy Scouts organizer. Born in Opelousa, Louisiana, Beauchamp resided with his family in Houston, Texas before attending Prairie View A&M University. Beauchamp began his teachin g career in Huntsville and Port Arthur, Texas, where he began the Port Arthur Review, a black weekly newspaper. In 1919, Beauchamp formed the first African American Boy Scout Troop, based in Port Arthur. After being stationed to teach in Jacksonville, Florida in 1924, Beauchamp worked at the Florida Sentinel Bulletin. Beauchamp later relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, where he resided until his death in 1974. In addition to organizing African American Boy Scout Troops across the south for 35 years, he worked at the Memphis World from 1960 until his retirement in 1970.
Note (Funding)
Digital reproduction funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Note
Interviewed by Henry G. La Brie III on July 12, 1971.
Digitized by Safe Sound Archive, Philadelphia, 2010.
Service copy (44 kHz, 16 bit) and rendered version (96 kHz, 24 bit) of sound file derived from a digital preservation master digitized at 96 kHz, 24 bit.
Note (Provenance)
Henry G. La Brie III Gift, 1975
Language
English
Library Location
Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University
Browse Location’s Digital Content
Catalog Record
6880554
Also In
Oral History Archives at Columbia
Time-Based Media
Time-Based Media
Persistent URL
https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-81y9-sh70
Related URLs
Available digital content for this interview.