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Oral history interview with O. C. W. Taylor, 1971.

Creator: Taylor, O. C. W.
Project: Black Journalists Oral History Collection.
(see all project interviews)
Phys. Desc. :Transcript 51 pages Sound recording 1 audiocassette
Location: Columbia Center for Oral History
Full CLIO record >>

Biographical Note

O.C.W. [Orlando Capitola Ward] Taylor was born in Huntsville, Texas, in 1891. He graduated from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. In 1915, Taylor moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, and worked as a public school teacher and principal. In 1925, he founded the African-American newspaper the Louisiana Weekly with C.C. [Constant C.] Dejoie Sr. Taylor and later hosted a talk show called Negro Forum on the New Orleans radio station WNOE in addition to a Saturday morning television show on WWOM-TV.

Scope and Contents

In his 1971 interview with Henry La Brie III, Taylor discusses the origins, cost, circulation, and profitability of the Louisiana Weekly. He describes the various jobs he held, including employment with the Pittsburgh Courier, the Associated Press, WNOE radio, WWOM-TV, and the New Orleans public school system. Other topics of discussion include: what people want to see in the news; the successes and challenges of the black press; the contributions of the black press to the civil rights movement; memories of a lynching Taylor witnessed as an adolescent; and Taylor's predictions for the future of the black press.

Subjects

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