Oral history interview with C. R. Wise, 1971.

Biographical Note

C. R. Wise was born in Mart, Texas, on July 22, 1907. He attended high school and college in Wiley, Texas, and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry in 1929. After graduating, he went into teaching and got married. In 1932, Wise left his teaching position and entered the newspaper business and helped found the Fort Worth Mind with Raymond L. Melton and Quincy Miller. He worked at the paper as publisher and editor.

Scope and Contents

In this interview conducted by Henry La Brie III, C. R. Wise describes the history and difficulties of the Fort Worth Mind from its conception until the time of the interview. The obstacles relating to running the paper include: shady business partners; issues in circulation, production, printing, and financing; as well as problems with advertising. Wise discusses the future of the black press, the successes of the black press, and the state of the black press at the time of the interview. He goes on to talk about the differences between the black press in the South and in the North, the statuses of black newspapers during election seasons, and the future of the black daily newspaper.

Subjects

• Advertising--Newspapers.
• African American journalists.
• African American press.
• African Americans--Civil rights.
• Fort Worth (Tex.)--Newspapers.
• Interviews.
• Journalists--Interviews.
• La Brie, Henry G., interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Newspaper publishing--Economic aspects--United States.
• Newspapers--Circulation.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• United States--Race relations.
• Wise, C. R.--Interviews.