The Philadelphia Independent (1931–71)

The Philadelphia Independent was a newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, published from 1931 to 1971 that billed itself as "The World's Greatest Negro Tabloid."[1]

The paper was founded by Forrest White Woodard, who was born in Norfolk, Virginia on February 12, 1886.[2] He moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a young man, where he worked at a number of different jobs and operated a number of businesses (including a used car lot and a real estate business) before establishing The Philadelphia Independent in 1931. He was joined by his second wife, Kathryn "Kitty" Fambro Woodard (1911-2003) who took over the day-to-day operation of the newspaper after his death on March 2, 1958.[3] She ran the paper until she sold it in 1966.

Throughout its history, the Independent competed with the Philadelphia Tribune for black readers. Kitty Woodard told The Philadelphia Inquirer in a 1997 interview, "The Independent was for the masses. The Tribune had always been the paper for the upper class. We were militant. We weren't afraid to take on issues like they were."[4]

References
  1. "About The Philadelphia independent. (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1931-1971". Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  2. Although census records and his death certificate lean toward an 1889 birth date, his World War I and World War II Draft Registration Cards give the 1886 date. ancestry.com
  3. Sims, Gayle Ronan (1 October 2003). "K.F. Woodard, 92, Activist Publisher". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  4. John-Hall, Annette (19 November 1997). "Local Treasure Starting Tomorrow, Philadelphia's First Woman Publisher -- Kathryn Fambro Woodard -- Will Be Filling People In On Her Life And Legacy". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
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