Beatrice Morrow Cannady family papers

Collection

Identifier: Coll 702

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the papers of Beatrice Morrow Cannady, a Black newspaper editor and civil rights activist from Portland, Oregon, and her family. While the bulk of Cannady's papers are from her time living in Portland, they also represent her later life in Los Angeles, California. These papers include correspondence to Cannady, including from her son George Cannady and from political figures in Oregon; the text of a civil rights bill and an accompanying letter that Cannady sent to Oregon State Representative Herbert Gordon in 1927; conference and dedication programs; a card for her campaign for the Oregon House of Representatives; and her obituary, a memorial service program, and a visitor log for the memorial service.

The family members of Beatrice Morrow Cannady who are most represented in the collection are her son George Cannady and her third husband, Reuben A. Taylor of Los Angeles, California. George Cannady's papers consist of biographical sketches; correspondence to and about him, including a letter of recommendation from Norval Unthank and a letter from U.S. Representative William A. Ekwall about Cannady; educational ephemera; a photocopy of his entry in the Negro Who's Who in California for 1948; and a program for his memorial service. Taylor's papers consist of a Mexican immigration card for him (in Spanish); information about his marriage to Beatrice Morrow Cannady; and materials relating to his military service. Other materials in the collection include compiled photographs and ephemera of Beatrice Morrow Cannady and Reuben A. Taylor; a letter and a booklet sent to Cannady's son Ivan Cannady; a letter to Cannady, a letter possibly from Cannady, and notes written in Esperanto; family photographs; materials relating to Spirit Lake Camp; clippings; and financial papers.

Dates

Creation: circa 1890-1984

Creator

Cannady, Beatrice (Person)
Cannady, George, 1914-1968 (Correspondent, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical Note

Beatrice Morrow Cannady (later Beatrice Cannady-Franklin and then Beatrice Cannady Taylor) was born in 1889 in Littig, Texas. She studied at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, and then at the University of Chicago in Illinois. In 1912, she came to Portland, Oregon, where she married Edward Daniel Cannady (1878-1941), founder of the Black newspaper The Advocate. Beatrice Morrow Cannady became assistant editor of The Advocate; following her divorce from Edward Cannady in 1930, she became the newspaper's owner and editor.

Cannady was a founding member of the Portland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She and other community leaders protested against the anti-Black film "Birth of a Nation" and campaigned to limit its showings in Portland. In 1922, she was the first Black woman to graduate from the Northwestern College of Law in Portland. In 1928, she spoke at the NAACP convention in Los Angeles, California, following a keynote address by W. E. B. DuBois. Cannady used her position as editor of The Advocate to protest racial discrimination in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. She also collected more than 300 volumes on Black American history and literature and made her living room a reading and lending library. She was a member of the Oregon Prison Association, the Near East Relief Organization, the Oregon Committee on the Cause and Cure of War, and the Pan African Congress. In 1932, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Oregon House of Representatives. In 1938, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she resided for the rest of her life.

Beatrice Morrow Cannady and Edward Cannady had four children: George Cannady (1914-1968), Ivan Cannady (1915-1987), Prince Cannady (born and died 1916), and Aran Cannady (born circa 1916). After her divorce from Edward Cannady, Beatrice Morrow Cannady married two more times: First to Jerome Y. Franklin (also known as Yancy Jerome Franklin, 1908-1983), and then to Reuben A. Taylor (1900-1972). Beatrice Morrow Cannady died in 1974.

Sources: "Beatrice Morrow Cannady (1889-1974)," by Quintard Taylor, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/cannady_beatrice_morrow/; vital and family tree records via Ancestry.com; article in the Oregonian, "Advocate Editor Weds," September 7, 1931.

Extent

0.55 Cubic Feet (1 legal document case; 1 oversize folder (12x15) in shared flat box)

Language of Materials

English

Esperanto

Spanish; Castilian

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of Beatrice Morrow Cannady (1889-1974) and her family, primarily her son George Cannady (1914-1968) and her third husband, Reuben A. Taylor (1900-1972). Papers include correspondence, photographs, and ephemera. Beatrice Morrow Cannady, a Black journalist and activist who lived in Portland, Oregon, from 1912 to 1938, edited the newspaper The Advocate, was a founding member of the Portland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and advocated for Black Oregonians' civil rights.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Cynthia Cannady, June 2018 (Lib. Acc. 29290).

Related Materials

Other materials at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library relating to Beatrice Morrow Cannady include a microfilm copy of a scrapbook of Cannady's, designated Microfilm 160; microfilm of the NAACP of Portland, Oregon records, designated Microfilm 195; and a biography of Cannady by Kimberly Ann Mangun, titled "A Force for Change: Beatrice Morrow Cannady and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Oregon, 1912-1936," call number 92 C224f 2010.