Roscoe Dunjee facts for kids

Roscoe Dunjee (1883–1965) was an important American civil rights activist, journalist, and newspaper editor. He lived in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1915, he started the Black Dispatch, which was the first newspaper for Black people in Oklahoma City. He used his newspaper to fight for civil rights and show unfair treatment.

Roscoe Dunjee was also a big leader in the local chapter of the NAACP. In 1932, he helped create the state-wide NAACP chapter in Oklahoma. He was its president for 16 years and also served on the national board of the NAACP. He worked hard to make sure everyone had fair chances in housing, schools, transportation, and other public places. He also fought against unfair jury selections and violence.

Roscoe Dunjee's Early Life

Roscoe Dunjee was born on June 21, 1883, in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. His father, Reverend John William, worked at Storer College, a college for Black students. Roscoe was born right in the college dormitory.

His family moved often because his father loved education. They settled in Oklahoma in 1892. His father traveled across Oklahoma, building schools and churches for the Baptist Home Missionary Society. Roscoe had a brother, Irving, and three sisters: Ella, Drusilla, and Blanche.

Why Did Roscoe Leave School Early?

Roscoe was a very smart child. The local schools were not challenging enough for him. So, he convinced his parents to let him leave school early and become a farmer. Even as a kid, Roscoe helped support his mother and younger siblings.

Leaving school didn't stop him from learning. As an adult, he became known for his sharp legal mind. When he was young, he was a very successful farmer and earned a lot of money by age 30. He used this money to start the Black Dispatch newspaper and support the civil rights movement. In 1903, when Roscoe was 20, his father passed away.

How Did Roscoe Learn and Grow?

Roscoe joined the first class at Langston College in Langston, Oklahoma. This college, for Black students, focused on technical skills. There, Roscoe learned how to set type for printing by working after hours at The Langston Herald newspaper.

He couldn't finish college because he needed to support his family. So, he became a truck farmer, selling food directly to people. He also worked as a bellhop at a hotel in Oklahoma City. Roscoe learned most of what he knew by reading many books from his family's large library.

Roscoe Dunjee's Fight for Justice

Roscoe Dunjee became interested in Black community groups. He joined the Pythian Grand Lodge and traveled around Oklahoma, giving speeches and signing up new members. This helped him become known as a great organizer.

As he traveled, Roscoe saw the tough lives of Black farmers. He also saw how Oklahoma had unfair laws that separated Black and white people in transportation and other public places. This made him want to start a newspaper to share the stories of Black people and speak out against racism.

Starting the Black Dispatch Newspaper

In 1915, when he was 32, Roscoe bought a printing business. He then started his own newspaper, the Black Dispatch. It was the first newspaper for Black people in Oklahoma City. He used it to write strong opinions against segregation and report on unfair treatment. The newspaper grew from a local paper to a national one, with almost 20,000 readers at one point. Dunjee often reported on violence against Black people in Oklahoma and Texas.

Fighting for Voting Rights

Roscoe Dunjee worked to change laws that made it hard for Black people to vote. After Oklahoma became a state in 1908, new laws were passed that stopped many Black people and other minority groups from voting. In 1916, a "grandfather clause" was added. This rule allowed white voters to avoid certain voting restrictions, like literacy tests.

Dunjee's efforts helped lead to court cases. Lawyers from the NAACP eventually got the "grandfather clause" overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case called Guinn v. United States.

Challenging Unfair Trials

Dunjee also brought attention to the murder trial of Jess Hollins. Jess Hollins was a Black man who was quickly sentenced to death. Dunjee reported on the case and supported an appeal in 1931. The judge had rushed the trial, saying he feared another Tulsa Race Riot. The state court said Hollins deserved a fair jury trial.

However, in 1934, an all-white jury convicted him again and sentenced him to death. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case Hollins v. State of Oklahoma (1935), the Court ruled that it was wrong to keep Black people off the jury. They ordered a new trial. Hollins was again convicted by another all-white jury and sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1950, and many now believe he was innocent.

Fighting Housing Segregation

In 1916, Oklahoma City passed a rule that stopped Black residents from moving into houses on blocks where 75% or more of the residents were white. Dunjee helped pay for the legal cases of several Black residents who tried to move into areas not set aside for Black people.

One example was William Floyd, a Black shoemaker. He bought a home in a mostly white neighborhood. Floyd was put in jail four times for trying to live in his new home. Each time, Dunjee paid his bail and encouraged him to go back. During this time, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Buchanan v. Warley (1917) that state and local laws separating people by race in housing were against the Constitution. Because of this, a judge in Oklahoma ruled that the state's housing law was also unconstitutional.

Reporting on the Tulsa Race Massacre

In early 1921, the Ku Klux Klan grew quickly in Oklahoma. On May 31, 1921, a group of white men set fire to the Greenwood District of Tulsa. This was a thriving Black community, often called "Black Wall Street." About 3,500 people lost their homes, and many successful businesses were destroyed.

When white-owned newspapers reported on it, they blamed Black people and called it a "race riot." However, the Black Dispatch told the truth, calling it a massacre. About 40 years later, the Oklahoma Legislature investigated what happened. They found that the Black Dispatch and other Black-owned newspapers had been right. It was indeed a massacre.

Working for School Integration

Dunjee was a leader in several organizations, including the NAACP. He played a key role in ending segregation at Oklahoma State University in 1948. He also worked for many years to integrate the University of Oklahoma.

Roscoe Dunjee never married or had children. In 1954, he began to have health problems, which were later understood to be Alzheimer's disease. He handed over the Black Dispatch to trusted friends. Roscoe Dunjee passed away in 1965.

Roscoe Dunjee's Legacy

In 1969, Roscoe Dunjee was honored by being added to the Oklahoma Journalist Hall of Fame. A picture of him hangs in the Oklahoma Capitol building.

At his funeral, it was shared that Roscoe Dunjee had paid for all the civil rights lawsuits in Oklahoma and most of the civil rights cases in the surrounding region. He truly dedicated his life and his money to fighting for equality.

About the Black Dispatch Newspaper

Roscoe Dunjee published Oklahoma City’s first Black newspaper, the Black Dispatch, from 1915 to 1954. Its name came from "Black Dispatches", a term used during the American Civil War for information given to the Union army by free or enslaved African Americans.

The Black Dispatch was part of the Western Negro Press Association. Later, it joined the Associated Negro Press, which had 112 member newspapers in 1921. Dunjee also added news from other services to his paper.

When Roscoe's health declined, he gave the newspaper to trusted friends, including Dr. Gravelly Finley. Dr. Finley worked hard to keep the Black Dispatch going until the mid-1970s, making sure it kept the high standards Roscoe Dunjee had set.