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Oral history interview with Jacques A. Beauchamp, 1971.

Creator: Beauchamp, Jacques A.
Project: Black Journalists Oral History Collection.
(see all project interviews)
Phys. Desc. :Transcript 45 pages Sound recording 1 audiocassette
Location: Columbia Center for Oral History
Full CLIO record >>

Biographical Note

Jacques A. Beauchamp (1895-1974) was a newspaper distributor, teacher, and Boy Scouts organizer. Born in Opelousa, Louisiana, Beauchamp resided with his family in Houston, Texas before attending Prairie View A&M University. Beauchamp began his teaching career in Huntsville and Port Arthur, Texas, where he began the Port Arthur Review, a black weekly newspaper. In 1919, Beauchamp formed the first African American Boy Scout Troop, based in Port Arthur. After being stationed to teach in Jacksonville, Florida in 1924, Beauchamp worked at the Florida Sentinel Bulletin. Beauchamp later relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, where he resided until his death in 1974. In addition to organizing African American Boy Scout Troops across the south for 35 years, he worked at the Memphis World from 1960 until his retirement in 1970.

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Beauchamp discusses: his experiences as a black southern newsman and Boy Scout organizer; his family and education in Houston and Prairie View, Texas; his coursework at Prairie View A&M, Tuskegee University, and Hampton University; the role of the black press and how it has changed since his introduction in the 1920s; and his experience teaching in Huntsville and Port Arthur, Texas. Beauchamp describes the origins of the Port Arthur Review, his contributions to the Florida Sentinel Bulletin, and his tenure at the Memphis World. He recalls the challenges he faced as a black newspaper salesman and reporter, including the economic disadvantage of African American businesses and the hostility of local police departments. Beauchamp elaborates on: the costs and benefits of local and national news coverage; his work with Boulder Smith and the Boy Scouts of America; his travels across the Jim Crow era Deep South; and the significance of the Black press in the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the United Negro College Fund.

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