Thelma Chiles Taylor
Thelma Chiles Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Thelma Chiles Taylor, from a 1930 newspaper | |
| Born | Thelma Ida May Mercer Chiles December 7, 1900 Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | May 30, 1984 (aged 83) Wahiawa, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Other name | Thelma Chiles Lee |
| Occupations | Editor, poet, educator, publisher |
Thelma Ida May Mercer Chiles Taylor Lee (December 7, 1900 – May 30, 1984) was an American newspaper editor, journalist, poet, librarian, and educator. She was editor and owner of the Topeka Plaindealer, a weekly newspaper serving Black communities in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Missouri, from 1930 to 1932.
Early life and education
[edit]Chiles was born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Nick Chiles[1] and Minnie Elizabeth Morris Chiles.[2][3] She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1923.[4][5] She was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.[2][6]
Career
[edit]Taylor taught school in Gary, Indiana, and Chicago after college, and was a librarian at Virginia State College.[2][7] She took over as editor and owner of the weekly Topeka Plaindealer in 1930,[7][8] after her father died.[9][10] She wrote an editorial supporting senator Henry J. Allen, a fellow newspaper owner.[11]
In 1932 Taylor was appointed librarian of the Kansas Vocational School,[12][13] and she wrote "State Capitol News", a column for The Kansas City American newspaper, on events on Topeka,[14][15] including an appearance by Langston Hughes.[16] She was vice-president of the Kansas Jeffersonian League in 1933.[17] She spoke at a meeting of the C.M.E. Church council in 1935.[18] In 1942 she lived in Kansas City, Missouri,[19] and sponsored a women's book club and a bridge club.[20][21] In 1945, she was a member of group representing Black women's organizations when it confronted Omar Bradley about racial segregation in veterans' hospitals.[22]
Taylor was a member of the National Council of Negro Women[23] and the National Negro Press Association. She also wrote and published poetry.[2] Later in life, she worked as an education services officer at Wheeler Army Airfield in Honolulu.[24]
Personal life
[edit]Chiles married lawyer Euclid L. Taylor in 1924.[25] They had a son, Nicholas, and divorced by 1930. She married newspaperman Davis Lee in 1936.[26][27] She died in 1984, at the age of 83, in Wahiawā, Hawaii.[24]
References
[edit]- ↑ Czarnecki, Sonja. “Entrepreneur, Editor, Provocateur: Nick Chiles and the Topeka Plaindealer.” Kansas History, vol. 47, no. 2, Summer 2024, pp. 62–83.
- 1 2 3 4 Who's who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1942. p. 502.
- ↑ "Nick Chiles". Kansapedia, Kansas Historical Society. 2010. Archived from the original on 2026-04-19. Retrieved 2026-02-15.
- ↑ "1923 Literary and Education Silver Anniversary" The Michigan Alumnus (July 10, 1948): 458.
- ↑ "Leavenworth: An O'Possom Dinner and Progressive Whist". The Topeka Plaindealer. 1923-12-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Colored Students and Graduates of 1923". The Crisis: 110. July 1923.
- 1 2 "A Scrap Book for Women in Public Life; Thelma Chiles Taylor Becomes Editor". The Chicago Defender. 1930-02-22. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Nick Chiles' Daughter Takes Over Newspaper". New Pittsburgh Courier. 1930-02-08. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Woman Editor Now Visiting Atlanta" Atlanta Daily World (July 26, 1934): 1; via Georgia Historic Newspapers.
- ↑ Kansas State Historical Society (1930). List of Kansas Newspapers and Periodicals Received by the Kansas State Historical Society. p. 35.
- ↑ "Negro Newspaper Upholds Senator Allen's Stand". The United States Daily. 1930-05-02. p. 2 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Librarian: Thelma Chiles-Taylor". The Chicago Defender. 1932-02-13. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Kansas Vocational School, Topeka (1920). Biennial Report. p. 4.
- ↑ Taylor, Thelma Chiles (1932-04-14). "State Capitol News". The Kansas City American. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Taylor, Thelma Chiles (1932-03-03). "State Capital Society". The Kansas City American. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Taylor, Thelma Chiles (1932-03-17). "State Capitol News: Langston Hughes, a Literary Gift". The Kansas City American. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Mitchell, Tracy (1933-03-03). "Topeka, Kansas". The Call. p. 19. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "C. M. E. Council Closes Session at Topeka". Baltimore Afro-American. February 2, 1935. p. 13 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ↑ "Show Educational Picture". The Call. 1942-11-20. p. 14. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Center Club Notes". The Call. 1942-11-06. p. 16. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Center Club News". The Call. 1942-12-04. p. 14. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Hicks, James L. (1945-12-29). "Woman Out-Talks General Bradley". New Journal and Guide. p. 41. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Alston, Mabel (1945-02-17). "Overheard in the Capital". Washington Afro American. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Thelma Chiles Taylor (death notice)". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 1984-06-05. p. 30. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Euclid Taylor, Black Leader, Lawyer, Dies; He Served as Colonel in National Guard". Chicago Tribune. 1970-08-11. p. 22. Retrieved 2026-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Announce Marriage of Thelma Chiles Taylor". The Call. 1936-07-10. p. 25. Retrieved 2026-02-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Aiello, Thomas (2018-11-01). The Grapevine of the Black South: The Scott Newspaper Syndicate in the Generation before the Civil Rights Movement. University of Georgia Press. pp. 145–146. ISBN 978-0-8203-5445-3.