Marvel Cooke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marvel Cooke
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Marvel Cooke, c. 1950s
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| Born |
Marvel Jackson
April 4, 1903 |
| Died | November 29, 2000 (aged 97) |
| Occupation | Journalist, writer, civil rights activist |
| Employer | New York Amsterdam News, The Crisis, People's Voice, The Daily Compass, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College |
| Organization | Newspaper Guild, National Council of Arts, Sciences and Professions, American-Soviet Friendship Committee |
| Known for | First African-American woman to work at a mainstream white-owned newspaper; assistant to W. E. B. Du Bois |
| Political party | Communist Party, USA |
| Spouse(s) | Cecil Cooke |
Marvel Jackson Cooke (born April 4, 1903 – died November 29, 2000) was an important American journalist, writer, and civil rights activist. She broke barriers as the first African-American woman to work at a major newspaper owned by white people.
Early Life and School Days
Marvel Jackson was the first black child born in Mankato, Minnesota. Her parents were Madison Jackson and Amy Wood Jackson. Her father was a lawyer, but he struggled to find work because he was black. Her mother had worked as a cook on a Native American reservation. She left that job because she saw unfair treatment of Native Americans.
Marvel faced racism from a young age. Her family moved to a mostly white neighborhood in Minneapolis in 1907. When they bought their home, people protested on their lawn. Marvel's enrollment helped desegregate her elementary and high schools. She even heard her favorite teacher use hurtful racial words. Her best friend also stopped being her friend because Marvel was black.
In 1921, Marvel started college at the University of Minnesota. Only four other black women were there among 20,000 students. She helped start a chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at the university.
While in college, Marvel took a test to become a Spanish translator for the War Department. She passed, but her boss gave her a job as a file clerk instead. He lied and said the translation department was not ready. Marvel later found out that only white women worked in that department. She contacted a senator, who helped her get the translator job she earned.
In 1925, Marvel graduated from the University of Minnesota at age 22. She earned a degree in English.
Journalism Career
After college, Marvel was offered a job as an assistant to W. E. B. Du Bois. He was the editor of The Crisis, a magazine for the NAACP. In 1926, she moved to New York City and lived in Harlem. This was during the exciting time known as the Harlem Renaissance. Marvel had never studied journalism or worked for a newspaper before. But Du Bois saw her talent for writing. He put her in charge of a column called "In the Magazines." She wrote reviews of works by famous writers like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.
Du Bois guided her, and she became friends with many important writers and artists. These included Paul Robeson and Richard Wright. She even broke off her engagement to Roy Wilkins, who later became a leader of the NAACP. She felt he was too traditional.
In 1927, Marvel started working at the New York Amsterdam News. She was the first woman reporter in the paper's 40-year history. In 1929, she married Cecil Cooke. He was from Jamaica and was a very fast runner. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1978. After marrying, they moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. There, Marvel taught history, English, and Latin at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College.
Marvel returned to the Amsterdam News in New York in 1931. She helped start the first local chapter of the Newspaper Guild. This was a union for newspaper workers. She was part of an 11-week strike at the paper. Marvel did not like the crime stories she was given at the News. She preferred to write about the arts. For example, she paid her own way to cover Marian Anderson's famous concert in 1939. She also wrote stories important to the black community. She exposed bad working conditions for dancers at the Apollo Theater. She also wrote about rising crime rates in Harlem. Cooke left the paper for good in 1940.
Once, while working for the Amsterdam News, Cooke went to interview a wealthy woman. She was not allowed to use the main entrance of the building because of her race. So, she called the woman and canceled the meeting. The woman then made the building management let Cooke in through the front door.
From 1942 to 1947, Cooke worked as an assistant managing editor for People's Voice. This weekly newspaper was owned by Adam Clayton Powell Jr.. This paper had very little crime news, which Marvel liked much more. The newspaper closed in 1947. In 1950, she was hired by The Daily Compass in New York. She became the first African-American woman reporter for a mainstream white-owned newspaper. She was one of only two black journalists working there. Cooke wrote about unfair working conditions for domestic workers. She showed how white employers paid black women much less than they should. Employers would also trick workers by changing clock times. The newspaper published her story and an editorial to the mayor. This led to new courses for household workers and efforts to set fair wages.
She stayed with the Daily Compass until it closed in November 1952.
Activism and Advocacy
While working at the Amsterdam News in the 1930s, Cooke helped create a local chapter of the Newspaper Guild. She even held union meetings at her home. She joined the Communist Party in 1936. She knew she might be fired if her employers found out.
She also started a writing group to support creative authors. One member was Richard Wright, a famous black writer.
In 1953, she became the New York director for the National Council of Arts, Sciences and Professions. This group brought together artists, scientists, and professionals for political reasons.
In 1953, she was called to testify about her involvement with the Communist Party. This was before Senator Joseph McCarthy. She used her right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment.
Cooke began working with the Angela Davis Defense Committee in 1969. She helped coordinate activities in New York. She raised money for Angela Davis's defense and organized a large rally. The rally had 16,000 people and raised $40,000. In her later years, Cooke became a national leader for the American-Soviet Friendship Committee.
Marvel Cooke died from leukemia in New York in 2000. She was 97 years old. She lived most of her life in a famous apartment building in Sugar Hill, Manhattan, where many other important black figures lived.
See also
