Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2007 "For men and measures" : the life and legacy of civil rights pioneer J.R. Clifford Connie Park Rice Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, Appalachian Studies Commons, and the History Commons Recommended Citation Rice, Connie Park, ""For men and measures" : the life and legacy of civil rights pioneer J.R. Clifford" (2007). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 3953. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3953 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “For Men and Measures:” The Life and Legacy of Civil Rights Pioneer J.R. Clifford Connie Park Rice Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In History Ronald L. Lewis, Ph.D., Chair Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D. Kenneth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D. Barbara Howe, Ph.D. Joe William Trotter, Jr., Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2007 Keywords: J.R. Clifford, African Americans, West Virginia, Berkeley County, politics, Pioneer Press, Niagara Movement, National Independent Political League, Progressives, Black lawyers, Black editors, Martinsburg, Harpers Ferry, Jim Crow, Disfranchisement Copyright 2007 Connie Park Rice ABSTRACT “For Men and Measures:” The Life and Legacy of Civil Rights Pioneer, J.R. Clifford Connie Park Rice In an era historian Rayford W. Logan described as “the nadir of black history,” African Americans confronted growing discrimination, disfranchisement, segregation, and frequent acts of violence, including lynching in the decades before and after 1900. It was an era in which a nation, and its people, violated the basic principles of American democracy. Yet despite the difficulties facing black Americans in those decades, J.R. Clifford, West Virginia’s first black editor and practicing attorney, made significant strides in raising the condition and status of not only black West Virginians, but African Americans across the nation, as a result of his quest for quality black education, racial equality, and civil rights. Born into the free black family of Isaac and Mary Clifford amid the western mountains of the slave state of Virginia, Clifford rose to prominence through hard work and perseverance. Striving to improve not only himself, but the social, economic, and political status of all African Americans, Clifford frequently ignited racial, political, and class conflict that resulted in attacks on his newspaper, the Pioneer Press, as well as physical violence against his person. In 1895, Clifford became the first African-American attorney in the state to argue a case before the West Virginia State Supreme Court. In two of his appearances before the Court, Martin v. Board of Education of Paw Paw District, Morgan County and Williams v. Board of Education of Fairfax District, Tucker County, he challenged the constitutionality of West Virginia’s segregated school law. In September of 1895, while Booker T. Washington was giving a speech that later became known as the “Atlanta Compromise,” J.R. Clifford stood in a courtroom in Martinsburg, West Virginia demanding the right to empanel blacks on a jury, an action that led to violence and nearly cost him his life. At the national level, Clifford was a member of the Knights of Wise Men, the Afro- American Council, the American Negro Academy, the National Afro-American Press Association, the Niagara Movement, and the National Independent Political League. One of the original fifty-nine men called to attend the 1905 organizational meeting of the Niagara Movement, a forerunner to the N.A.A.C.P., Clifford was part of the male black leadership that Du Bois’ referred to as the “talented tenth.” This historic meeting has often been referred to as the “birth of, or the cornerstone for, the modern civil rights movement.” Clifford, and men like him, comprised a second tier of black leadership, civil rights activists who fought the battle for equal rights in their respective states and regions and provided a voice as well as support for national figureheads of the civil rights movement such as W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington and their ideologies. His family and cultural heritage, status as a free African American, integrated education, moral and religious principles, conception of “manliness,” and commitment to freedom and equality shaped the character of John Robert Clifford as a man. In turn, Clifford influenced black politics and political leaders in West Virginia from 1870 to 1933, not only through his political and legal measures, but also through his pioneer work in the field of journalism. As the first African American lawyer to practice in the state of West Virginia and one of the few black lawyers south of the Mason-Dixon Line, Clifford paved the way for the next generation of black attorneys who followed in his footsteps, men such as T.G. Nutter and Harry Capehart whose work in the West Virginia State Legislature and the N.A.A.C.P. carried on Clifford’s commitment to civil rights. His paper, the Pioneer Press (1882-1917), quickly became a voice for African Americans from across the region and a weapon in his battle for civil rights. When it closed its doors at the end of 1917, the Pioneer Press was the longest continually running black newspaper in America. For nearly sixty years, Clifford fought against racial injustice: from Civil War battlefields to the segregated railroad cars of the South; from rural courtrooms in the hills of West Virginia to the Presidential office of the White House; from the columns of a “modest” four-page paper called the Pioneer Press to the podiums of some of the nation’s greatest lecture halls. A true civil rights pioneer, John Robert Clifford had the heart, courage, principles, and character required to change American history. Acknowledgements First of all, I wish to thank my dissertation committee, not only for their contributions and support for this dissertation, but also for their encouragement, kindness, and patience throughout my graduate career. It has indeed been an honor to earn a degree in Appalachian Regional History under the direction of Dr. Ronald Lewis; his knowledge, scholarship, and mentoring has left an indelible imprint on the hearts and minds of not only his students, but on the people of this state and region as well. In thanking him, I must also thank his wife Susan who has had to endure his absences as well as his adoring students on frequent occasions. Dr. Barbara Howe has also served as a wonderful mentor, offering encouragement while instilling the desire for both the excellence and professionalism she exhibits. It was she who guided me to the path that led to J.R. Clifford. Thanks also to Dr. Elizabeth Fones-Wolf for her encouragement and the excellent teaching she continues to provide; I think I’ve taken every class she has ever taught and they have served me well. I would also like to thank Dr. Ken Fones-Wolf for reading the dissertation and for the invaluable observations and suggestions he provided. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Dr. Joe Trotter, Jr., not only for reading this dissertation, but also for his pioneer research on blacks in West Virginia. His knowledge and scholarship opened the door to future scholarship on the lives. My research into the life and legacy of John R. Clifford provided me with the opportunity to meet members of the Clifford family, an opportunity I enjoyed and will always remember. I offer a special appreciation for those who provided much needed information for this dissertation as well as the opportunity for friendship. In particular, I would like to thank Rosemary Clifford McDaniel for sharing her research on the Clifford family genealogy, an endeavor that has taken numerous years and much hard work and continues to do so; Margaret Washington Clifford for giving me access to Clifford’s extant papers as well as Paul Ingraham Clifford’s unfinished manuscript on his grandfather, J.R. Clifford; Kimberly Rolls and her mother, Freda; and last, but certainly never least, J.R. Clifford’s great-grand-daughter, Jennifer Neal—definitely “a chip off the old block” in every good sense of the expression. In the process of researching and writing this dissertation I have depended on the library staff and archivists at numerous institutions; none more so than the staff at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection at West Virginia University to whom I offer a special thanks. I also give a warm thank you to a member of the library staff and my friend, Rhonda Donaldson. During my many years at West Virginia University, I have benefited from a close circle of friends who patiently endured numerous conservations and presentations on the life and legacy of J.R. Clifford. As a group, we have prospered from the sharing of our knowledge, sources, theories, insights, suggestions, encouragement, experiences, and, most importantly, our enduring friendship. I offer a special and loving thank you to my friends and colleagues, Carletta Bush, Shirley Stewart Burns, Diane Barnes, Rebecca Bailey, and Paul Yandle.