Oral history interview with Ruth Washington 1972

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Name: Washington, Ruth (Interviewee); La Brie, Henry G (Interviewer)
Title: Oral history interview with Ruth Washington 1972
Other Titles: Reminiscences of Ruth Washington : oral history, 1972; Oral history of Ruth Washington, 1972
Abstract: In this 1972 interview with Henry La Brie, Ruth Washington discusses the work of her husband, Leon Washington, in establishing and building the Los Angeles Sentinel; her education, professional work, and later involvement in managing the newspaper; and the growth and importance of the Los Angeles Sentinel to the black community. Washington discusses the early years of Leon Washington's life includi ng his education, relocation to Los Angeles and work with Carlotta Bass at the California Eagle, prior to his decision to leave and begin his own newspaper in 1934. She discusses Washington's "Don't buy where you can't work" campaign and the ensuing pickets against businesses that maintained discriminatory hiring practices. Washington recounts the assistance she received from Loren Miller, Washington's cousin, and Dora Moore to keep the paper running after her husband's health challenges prevented his continued management and oversight of the paper. She discusses the paper's production, staffing, popularity, and operations in addition to its participation in ABC and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). Finally, she discusses the need for more blacks to enter the journalism and mass communications fields.
Collection Name: Black Journalists oral history collection
Subjects: African American women journalists; Journalism--Political aspects; Journalism--Social aspects; Journalists; African Americans--Civil rights; African American press; African American journalists; Los Angeles (Calif.); United States Race relations; Washington, Ruth; National Newspaper Publishers Association (U.S.)
Format: oral histories
Genre: Interviews
Origin Information: 1972
Date: 1972
Physical Description: sound files : digital preservation master, WAV files (96kHz, 24 bit); 32 pages
Note (Biographical): Born in Salina, Kansas, Ruth Washington (1914 - 1990) married Leon Washington, the owner of The Los Angeles Sentinel. Washington attended business school in Denver, Colorado, and Metropolitan Business School in California. She worked as a photographer , maintaining her own shop until her husband's stroke. She was named the Assistant Publisher and Business Manager the Los Angeles Sentinel.
Note: Interviewed by Henry G. La Brie III on June 24, 1972.
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: 11564447
Also In: Time-Based Media
Persistent URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-72gd-y250
Related URLs: Available digital content for this interview.