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Concept
Percy Greene
Summary
Percy Greene (1897–1977) was an American newspaper editor, and journalist. Greene created the Jackson Advocate, Mississippi's first and oldest black-owned newspaper. In the 1940s and 1950s, Greene had been a staunch civil rights activist; but by the 1960s, Green supported segregation. He worked for the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, a state agency tasked with fighting desegregation and controlling civil rights activism.
Percy Greene was born on September 7, 1897, in Jackson, Mississippi. He was one of twelve children born to George Washington Green and Sarah Stone. He used the last name "Green" until around 1921. At the age of 17, Greene joined the United States Army and served at the 25th Infantry Regiment a racially-segregated unit during World War I.
Greene studied law under black attorney-physician Sidney D. Redmond. Greene failed the state bar exam after getting into an altercation with a white man. Greene also attended Jackson College (now Jackson State University). He is in the Jackson State University Hall of Fame for his football talent.
On June 16, 1921, Greene married Frances Lee Reed. The couple had two daughters.
His early jobs included mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, magazine salesman with Tuskegee Institute, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. He also had a stint working for The Mississippi Enterprise. In 1927, Greene founded the National Association of Negro War Veterans, because black veterans were not allowed to join other veterans organizations at the time. He also founded the Colored Veteran, a newspaper for the National Association of Negro War Veterans.
In 1938, Greene started the Jackson Advocate newspaper, Mississippi's oldest black-owned newspaper (as of 1998). By 1948, the Jackson Advocate circulated 3,000 papers, and that number rose to 10,000 papers in 1973. In 1978 after Greene's death, the newspaper was sold to Charles W. Tisdale who continued operations until his death in 2007.
Greene advocated for equal rights, justice and opportunities and spoke about the Mississippi poll tax and the intimidation blacks suffered at the polls.
Official source
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