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ÒThe (S.C.) Palmetto Leader: 
A Successful Start, 1925-1927Ó

The Palmetto Leader was founded on January 10, 1925, in Columbia, South Carolina. Its proprietors were a printer and an owner of a printing company. Its editor was an attorney and its religion editor was a preacher. If that sounds like a winning combination, it was.
Surprisingly, although the black weekly lasted 34 years, from 1925 to 1954, there is no written historical account of it. 
According to historian Theodore Hemmingway, who wrote a history of blacks in South Carolina between 1900 and 1940 as well as a short history of black newspapers in the state, ÒThe Palmetto Leader fought racial inequities and discrimination, but he apparently based his assessment on a small amount of the newspaperÕs content during the 1940s. Except for the attention given by Hemmingway, The Palmetto Leader is barely acknowledged in South Carolina and black press histories and its role in the black community has largely been ignored. ThatÕs probably because it played second fiddle to the more aggressive Lighthouse and Informer during the heyday of black newspapers in the 1940s. During that time, both papers reached their peak circulation -- 14,000 for the Lighthouse and Informer and 12,500 for The Leader. Circulation figures for the time period specifically covered by this study could not be found. 
By its longevity and ultimate size of circulation alone, it would appear that The Palmetto Leader has been one of South CarolinaÕs most successful black newspapers. But success is more than mere existence, however long that might be, or mere circulation, however large that might be. Success should be defined, at least in part, by the newspaperÕs mission. The Palmetto LeaderÕs mission was stated in the paperÕs first issue. Under the heading ÒSalutatoryÓ in the editorial section in the first issue, Editor N.J. Frederick states:
ÒWith this issue The Palmetto Leader launches upon the uncertain sea of journalism. While sure that breakers are ahead, yet it is as equally certain that if it but keep the compass pointed sure and true towards its goal, the voyage will have been worthwhile. And that goal is the encouragement of everything that has an upward pull in the growth and development of our group in particular. In its discussions of topics, sanity shall have an abiding place and personal controversies and billingsgate tabooed. Whining shall be no part of its policy, but rather it will sing the song of joyous possession and present accomplishments, with the urge to attain that which is lacking by intelligent and common sense efforts. Recognizing the fact that a newspaper is but a mirror of life, it shall present the news, some of which will be pleasant while at other times it may not be so palatable. But at all times it shall endeavor to present news that is informative, timely and interesting. With this, we step aboard and the ship proceeds.Ó

As a reader, J.G. Stuart, M.D., said in ÒA Letter of CommendationÓ in the second issue: Ò. . . if the policy set forth in your maiden issue is rigidly adhered to, I see no reason why it should not enjoy the full patronage of our group which it so rightly deserves.Ó 
The Palmetto Leader consciously sought a variety of news. When a North Carolina black newspaper erroneously reported the demise of The Leader in 1927, an editorial responded: Ò. . . . we cannot quite understand the implied reason he gives for our demise. Our columns are full of State and city news, social, religious and business, even though our contemporary overlooks it, which he evidently does as the want of such features seem to be the reason he assigned for our departure.Ó
Using as a measuring stick the goals the paper set forth, The Palmetto Leader was a successful black newspaper, at least during its beginning years, 1925-1927, examined  by this study. But what why The Leader able to have such success? What factors were behind the success of the newspaper? The author examined each issue of The Palmetto Leader during the period, taking note of popular topics as well as personalities covered. Additionally, the study goes beyond the content and to attempt to determine outside factors or influences on the paper. An account of a number of factors which contributed to The Palmetto LeaderÕs success follows.

The Men Behind The Palmetto Leader
Two keys to the success of The Palmetto Leader were owner and business manager George H. Hampton and Editor Nathaniel J. Frederick. Not much is readily  available on either one, particularly Hampton. But what little that could be found indicates that each had a strong influence on The Leader, albeit in different ways. The managerial skills and business acumen of general manager (and later owner) George Hampton and journalistic  ability of Editor N.J. Frederick drove the success of The Palmetto Leader. Hemmingway, the historian, says that in most cases, black newspaper owners in South Carolina served as proprietor, editor, and printer combined. But that was not so with The Palmetto Leader. Hampton ran the business side of the newspaper while Frederick guided the news side. That division of responsibilities appears to have significantly contributed to the newspaperÕs success. 
a.  George H. Hampton, general manager
George Henry Hampton was already an established printer and businessman when he and J.B. Lewie founded The Palmetto Leader. In the first issue, he was introduced as follows: The paper ran a large head and shoulders picture with his name and title ÒGeo. H. Hampton, ManagerÓ under it. A short bio under the picture stated: ÒA Newspaper man of experience, a business man of ability. For a number of years he has been the Manager of the Lewie Printing and Supply Co., the largest and best equipped Colored Printing Company in the State, and widely known for his high class work.Ó In a society story in a subsequent issue of the paper, he is referred to as ÒProf. Hampton,Ó  but it could not be determined if that was just a friendly social reference or if Hampton taught at one of the local black colleges. 
Hampton and Lewie owned The Palmetto Leader under the name of the J.B. Lewie Printing Co. No doubt, HamptonÕs skills as a printer and as a business manager for J.B. LewieÕs printing and supply company played a large role in the decision to start the newspaper. And clearly, he was instrumental in the companyÕs success. As a story in The Palmetto Leader would soon note, ÒMr. Hampton (is). . .  well known as one of the best business men in the State. He has made The Palmetto Leader one of the biggest Negro journals in the South and he intends to continue giving to the public the best there is in the newspaper world.Ó
J.B. Lewie, the man for whom the printing company was named, was listed as the first publisher of The Palmetto Leader. But after only a few months as publisher, Lewie relinquished his part-ownership of the paper making Hampton the sole owner.  Lewie, a retired postal worker, was in ill health and wanted to devote his time to the regalia side of his printing business. Hampton, already the paperÕs business manager, continued to run the paper like the business that it was. When he saw the paper continuing to operate in the red, he used a full-page ad to threaten to cancel subscriptions if subscribers did not pay up. A few months later, he reported in a front page ÒNoticeÓ that he had cut off a few subscribers and that other cut-offs would follow for delinquent accounts. 
Despite the threats, Hemmingway says Hampton kept the paper going as a Òlabor of love.Ó It was not profitable and Hampton admitted as much. In that front page plea to subscribers to pay their bills, he stated: ÒThe Palmetto Leader began the third year of its existence on last week. . . . We have worked earnestly and hard to give the Colored of this city and State especially an up-to-date weekly newspaper, but have lost money on the venture.Ó 
The strength of HamptonÕs influence on the paper may be revealed in the December 11, 1926 issue. A note on page one tells readers that because Hampton, who is business manager, was suffering from the flu and was confined to his bed, the paper had to be cut to four pages. Not only was the paper smaller, that issue was unusually dull and lacking in visual appeal. All headlines were one only column wide with small size type. The largest type was used on HamptonÕs headline, which simple stated, ÒGeorge Hampton Ill.Ó For that issue, the same could be said of The Palmetto Leader.
It is also important that either Lewie or Hampton, or the two of them together, owned a printing press. After Hampton became owner of the newspaper, he announced in 1927 that articles had to be kept 500 words or less Òuntil we put in our new press.Ó ThatÕs an interesting statement since The Record, one of the white daily newspapers, had noted in a story on The Palmetto Leader that Òthey have installed a new linotype machine and a modern newspaper press.Ó
b.  Nathaniel J. Frederick, editor
Nathaniel Jerome Frederick was perhaps the guiding force behind The Palmetto LeaderÕs news side. He was a lawyer by training, as well as a school principal, a civic activist and an entrepreneur. The newspaperÕs ÒnewsÓ seemed to be a reflection of his interests.
Frederick was admitted to the bar in 1913, but black lawyers were not in great demand even by blacks in South Carolina at the time. At some point before 1920, he was principal of Howard School, a school for blacks. He was a part of the Capital City Civic League, apparently a black civic group in Columbia. The League applied to the national NAACP in 1915 to become an affiliate branch of the NAACP in Columbia, S.C. When the affiliation was approved in 1917, Frederick was elected to the executive committee of the Columbia branch. In February of 1917, Roy Nash, national Secretary of the NAACP, congratulated Frederick on his Òwillingness to take hold of this (Columbia branch) at the start and make it a success.Ó Nash seemed to suggest that Frederick was president or the leader of the NAACP, but there is no evidence to support that suggestion. In fact, Frederick seemed to disappear from visible involvement in civic activities about that time and there is no correspondence that lists him as branch president. Correspondence indicates that the first Columbia branch president was Butler W. Nance, who not only was also an attorney, but apparently he and Frederick shared the same law office for a while. The 1919 Columbia City Directory listed the office for each of them at 1107 1/2 Washington St. Three years later, they had different addresses.
Like the printer and businessman Hampton, Frederick also came to his position at The Palmetto Leader with experience. Although it is not clear when he started, he was editor of The Southern Indicator as early as 1913 and apparently as late as  February 1921. His name does not appear in the staff box of The Southern Indicator in 1921; however, there is some evidence that he was with the paper in 1921. An editorial complaining about the unsuccessful defense of a black man in Sumter who charged with assaulting a white women says Òa Sumter lawyerÓ named ÒM.J. Frederick,Ó (notice the initial ÒMÓ instead of ÒNÓ) could have provided a better defense. A front page letter in the next issue in response to the editorial agreed that Òour Hon. M.J. Frederick the coming Negro Statesman and Lawyer of South CarolinaÓ would have done a better job.  It is possible that the first reference in the editorial was a typographical error and the second was a reader repeating what he had read. During the same period, in the August 27, 1921 issue of The Southern Indicator in the article, ÒPythians in South Carolina Have $100,000 Surplus,Ó ÒN.J. Frederick, ColumbiaÓ is listed as Grand Attorney of the group. 
When The Palmetto Leader began in 1925, both the Columbia Record -- a white daily -- and the black Southern Indicator-Record took notice of Frederick. The Indicator-Record acknowledged the qualities of its former staffer, saying: ÒThis paper is to be edited by Atty. N.J. Frederick, of the Columbia bar. Lawyer Frederick is known South Carolina over as a writer, scholar and lawyer of great repute. We therefore, bespeak for this journal a high editorial stand in particular, a wide and useful career in general performing a service for our group in which it is in great need.Ó   
FrederickÕs renown grew in 1926 when he defended the Lowman trio, two men and a woman who were accused of murdering the sheriff of Aiken County. With the help of a white Spartanburg lawyer and the NAACP, Frederick persuaded the state Supreme Court to overturn their convictions, because of prejudice on the part of the judge. Unfortunately, as Frederick was defending them in a new trial, a mob stormed the jail one night and lynched all three, including the  woman.
Throughout this period in the early to mid 1920s, the young Columbia branch of the NAACP had become dormant. Following the LowmansÕ case, the national office called on Frederick to revive the Columbia branch in 1926. He responded that efforts were already under way by the then-current president and offered his assistance.
c.  Other Men
Additional names appeared in the staff box in 1926, perhaps evidence of growing circulation or that the original staffers were too busy with other endeavors. For example, N.J. Frederick was heavily involved in defending the Lowmans when Henry D. Pearson appeared as City Editor and A.B. Lindsey was added as Managing Editor. No additional information about them could be immediately found. Former Palmetto Leader owner and president J.B. Lewie began to be listed as Fraternal Editor in the Nov. 6, 1926 issue. Lewie, as noted earlier, a retired postal worker, was very active in the Knights of Pythias. He was the groupÕs Grand Keeper of Records and Seal. In 1921, he made quite an impression on his fellow lodge members when he prepared his annual report in book form, which allowed all members to take a copy home with them. Another influential staff member was William Frank Williams, writer of the column, ÒThe Searchlight.Ó He wrote his column of observations from Atlanta, where he lived. He had been a writer for The Southern Indicator, apparently when Frederick was its editor. He had attended Allen University and was graduated from Morehouse College in 1922. Williams was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and he was a Pythian.

Countering Accommodationist Sentiment
 The Palmetto Leader benefited from the desire among many blacks for a paper with a less accommodationist philosophy than the papers that currently existed, particularly The Southern Indicator, and its forerunner, The Southern Ploughman, which was founded and edited by the Rev. Richard Carroll. He was the most popular black preacher among whites in South Carolina during the period and was B.T. WashingtonÕs strongest advocate in the state. Hemmingway called Carroll Òperhaps the greatest exponent of racial accommodation in the state.Ó Carroll founded The Southern Ploughman in 1905 with the support of a white man and used it to shun talk of social equality and to promote industrial education. 
The Southern Indicator was more aggressive than The Southern Ploughman and, at least on occasion, supported political equality. In an effort to gain subscribers, The Southern Indicator, in an editorial on July 23, 1921, berated white newspapers for printing only news about blacks that would Òlower the standard of the raceÓ while ignoring scores of Òpublic spirited men and women who have done and are still doing creditable work. The blacks being ignored by the white press were those like Òa Booker T. WashingtonÓ and  Òan R.R. Moten,Ó both of Tuskegee as well as Òa Richard Carroll,Ó according to the editorial. Then, further showing the paperÕs accommodationist philosophy, the editorial stated: ÒNegro newspapers teach against any desire for social equality. (Drive a peg there) but contends that out of one blood God, the righteous Judge, created all men and adjudged them equal. Negro newspapers further hold and contend that Negroes should have all civil and political rights of any people in keeping with the laws governing this land of which they own very much and pay more taxes on the sameÓ (parentheses in original).
It is not clear whether the NAACP was in the picture or was meant to play a vital role when The Palmetto Leader was founded in 1925, but in April -- only its fourth month of existence -- it appeared that the paper discovered the NAACP News Service. NAACP stories began to appear with regular frequency, and sometimes dominated the front page. A headline across the top of the front page read, ÒN.A.A.C.P. Begins Fight on Texas Primary Law.Ó Two of the five stories on the top half of the page, covering three of the six columns, were from the N.A.A.C.P. News Service. Running stories such as the NAACPÕs anti-lynching campaign and its fight for greater political rights and social equality kept interest going. The paperÕs NAACP connection was undoubtedly due, in part, to N.J. FrederickÕs association with the NAACP, which is explained earlier in the discussion about Frederick.

Competition
Hemmingway, in his account of black newspapers in South Carolina, contends that there were too many  in the state during the first quarter of the century. When The Palmetto Leader came on the scene, it was the fourth black newspaper in Columbia and at least one writer acknowledged that it was too many.  Ò(A)  Negro newspaper does well to exist at best, and four newspapers cannot do justice to themselves nor their patrons and advertisers in a city of 20,000 race people, many of whom do not take either,Ó wrote William Frank Williams, the Atlanta-based columnist for The Palmetto Leader. As noted earlier, he also had been a staffer for The Southern Indicator. 
Generally, The Leader seemed to be welcomed. The Columbia Record, one of the two white dailies, appeared to boast that ÒThe colored people of Columbia are publishing more newspapers than the colored people of any other town in the state. Even Charleston, which is the metropolis of the state, has only one Negro paper. . . . The first issue of their paper is very creditable.Ó The LeaderÕs direct competition, The Recorder and Indicator, also took note, and in fact praised Frederick was The LeaderÕs editor ÒWe ... welcome this new sheet in our field and wish for it unabounded success.Ó 
Perhaps recognizing the strength of their new competition, The Southern Indicator and The Peoples Recorder merged about the time The Leader started. Williams, who was critical of the number of black newspapers in Columbia, called the merger Òone of the best things that could have happened in Columbia. . . . Editor Roach and Manager Taylor deserve the support of the entire state in their attempt to put out a first class newspaper. Long live The Recorder-Indicator.Ó The merger was not a great loss because while one of the four newspapers, The Standard, was an organ of the African Methodist church, both of the other papers were considered Baptist publications. The Peoples Recorder was considered the organ of the Negro Baptist Church in South Carolina and The Standard was similar. So, perhaps, what should be considered when determining whether there are too many black newspapers is whether a reduction in papers resulted in or would result in the stifling of important opinions and news.
Because The Leader was a different newspaper than the two religious-affiliated, more accomodationist-oriented publications, they soon clashed. The issue was the Colored State Fair, the leadership of which The Record-Indicator had been critical. In response, The Palmetto Leader said:
ÒFor the past two years, The Record-Indicator has been hammering on The State Colored Fair Association, or rather on one or two officials of said Association. The last issue of that paper contains another knock. We have been wondering just what that publication hopes to accomplish by such tactics. . . . We are of the opinion that if The Record-Indicator would use just a small part of its ink in trying to encourage and help along the work that it has used in trying to kill the Association, it would soon see a fair the like of which it professes to dream. But what reforms does Brother Roach hope to bring about by burdening his readers with continued denunciations? . . . Come Brother Roach, donÕt you think itÕs about time to put up the hammer? Try boosting a little. Enterprises of a cooperative nature are all too few as it is among us, for those who have it in their power to help, to continually try to destroy.Ó

The rivalry with Editor Roach of The Recorder-Indicator erupted once more in 1926 -- again, over the Colored State Fair. Roach charged that Frederick inappropriately acted as the attorney for the fair association and that the head of the association needed to step aside. The Palmetto Leader responded:
ÒIt is really regrettable that the Editor of the Recorder-Indicator cannot discuss any subject upon which he differs with others without displaying  the narrowness of his heart. Truth to him seems verily a stranger facts facts an unknown quality. He delights in impugning the motives of everyone and finds a fulness of joy in questioning the sincerity of all who differ from him. For facts, he substitutes vagaries and for truth, dirty insinuations.Ó
  Although the editorial was unsigned, it appeared that Frederick wrote it, for it states: Ò. . . we, as he says are the attorney for the Association. If we are the attorney, Editor Roach is the only person who knows it, we certainly donÕt.Ó However, FrederickÕs close association with the fair should be noted. In the March 4, 1922 issue of The Southern Indicator, Frederick is listed as one of two members of the Audit Committee that examined the books of the 1921 Colored State Fair Although this was a legitimate news story, such a running feud tends to attract readers, a point Frederick and his staff undoubtedly realized.

Black Middle Class
The factors discussed thus far suggest the existence of a black middle class in Columbia and in the state. All of the newspaper men had what were considered good jobs and the black elite would have been the voices seeking greater political and social equality.  Other evidence of a black middle-class included stories about fraternal organizations such as the statewide Knights of Pythias, which had a $108,000 surplus in 1921, and the advertisements of black businesses in the paper. A story from a 1925 issue of The Palmetto Leader symbolizes how the newspaper (and black community) mixed business with racial pride and social activities. The story, about the campaign to increase subscribers, stated in part:
ÒThe Manager [probably Hampton], with Messrs. Lindsay; Burrell and the writer left the city Saturday night last (by auto) for the Game Cock City, (Sumter) Bishopville, Darlington, Florence and other points that side, to represent the paper that has its motto embodied in its name [The Palmetto Leader]. Their reporters were favorable. (brackets added)
ÒWe are very glad to say that the leading colored people of these towns are engaged in their various professions with progressiveness, that means for the betterment of the State.
ÒWe are grateful to Dr. W.W. Felder, M.D., and Dr. J.A.Williams, Surgeon Dentist of Sumter for kindnesses shown in making it pleasant for us, for we were royally entertained by them. . . . 
ÒAt Florence, Prof. Hampton was entertained by Prof. Killingworth. He made it possible for the Manager to meet the leading people of Florence and helped him to introduce the leading Colored weekly newspaper of the state. . . . It is our purpose to establish a News Bureau and have an agent in every city and town in this and adjoining states.Ó

Perhaps too much is being made of this, but compare that sophisticated tone to that of a note which appeared in a 1921 issue of The Southern Indicator: 

ÒDespite the fact that the general topic of discussion these days is Ôhard timesÕ our City Representative, Rev. D.P. Bishop is bringing about satisfactory results by way of getting new subscribers. We find too that the bulk of business being done is among the humble class that renders the most support to all other businesses, as well as in the church. This class can always be relied upon and this is the lesson which all business men have learned.
ÒThese people donÕt mind paying the pitiful sum of $1.50 for a yearÕs subscription to a paper published in interest of their people. ItÕs a large number of the other class with which newspaper and other business men have the most trouble in making collections of honest bills.
ÒWe welcome these honest and reliable humble class to our subscription list at all times . . . .Ó
 
Black middle class organizations, particularly fraternal organizations -- especially the Knights of Pythias -- were critical to the survival of The Palmetto Leader. J.B. Lewie, the first owner and later the fraternal editor of the paper, Frederick, the editor, and Williams, the columnist, were all members of the Knights of Pythias. Frederick was the organizationÕs attorney.  On July 25, 1925, the lead headline stretching across all six columns of the top of page one read, ÒK. of P. Grand Lodge in Newberry July 28-29-30.Ó Surely, its meeting was not that newsworthy, unless its many members were subscribers and readers of The Palmetto Leader.
Depending on the support of such middle-class organizations might represent a different approach to survival than that practiced by earlier papers such as The Southern Ploughman and The Southern Indicator. The Rev. Richard CarrollÕs Ploughman was connected with his Columbia orphanage, which was funded largely by funds from whites. 
 Even if The Palmetto LeaderÕs connection with middle class groups such as the Knights of Pythias and the NAACP was only Òinformal,Ó it was important, nevertheless. Maybe, an informal connection was best because it gave the paper a necessary degree of freedom but at the same time the paper could depend on persons associated with such organizations to be subscribers of the paper. 

Black Businesses
Advertisements in The Palmetto Leader were from the typical array of black businesses: Restaurants. Funeral parlors. Shoe Repair. Black Department store. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. Tailors. Barber shos. Victory Savings Bank. Doctors and Dentists. Local Hotel. Allen University (more than 1/4 page. Drug stores. Lewie Printing and Supply Co. Also in the March 4, 1922 issue under ÒOur New EnterprisesÓ (apparently in the editorial section), it is reported: ÒDespite the fact that Columbia is now passing through a crisis like the which it has never witnessed before, new enterprises are springing up here and there and our people are gradually taking to them. . . . another insurance company (is) now in process of organization which it is hoped will spread through the entire state. The promoters of this are Mr. I.J. Joseph, Lawyer N.J. Frederick, Mr. G.L. Floyd, Mr. G. Lee Ratliff, and others. . . Our people need more employment and they can only get it through our own enterprises. LetÕs pull and stop knocking.Ó 

Religious Community
The Palmetto Leader recognized the importance of the religious community from the start. In the first issue, January 10, 1925, two pictures appeared on the front page. They were head and shoulder photographs of two of the cityÕs most popular black ministers. Two of the front pageÕs six columns were devoted to one of the ministers, Dr. J.C. White, pastor of the largest black church in Columbia. The Church, Zion Baptist, had more than 2,000 members. Rev. White was featured in three separate items, two of which carried his name in the headline. The three-deck headline, ÒDr. J.C. White Welcomed to the Land of the Sky by a Delegation of Citizens Wednesday Afternoon,Ó reported the preacherÕs cordial welcome to the city of Asheville, N.C. The story that took up only a little more space than the headline. Under WhiteÕs picture was ÒExtracts from Dr. J.C. WhiteÕs Emancipation Address,Ó two columns one-half page deep that jumped to an inside page where it took up another column and a half. ItÕs not clear if any of this was paid copy. But the newspaper might have been buttering up the Rev. White, or seeing how the public would respond to him. Perhaps it should not have come as a surprise when it was announced the next week that  Rev. White would be the newspaperÕs religion editor. In addition to often a page of church news, summaries of individual churchesÕ Sunday School and worship services, the paper often ran at least one religion story on page one and others spread throughout the paper. For example, in the first issue, in addition to the stories about Dr. White, also appearing on the front page was ÒNew Pastor of Wesley M.E. Church Arrives.Ó One can only guess whether churches paid to have items like that put in the paper. WhiteÕs popularity was reinforced when he was elected president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance about the time he became religion editor. WhiteÕs activities, like the interests of editor N.J. Frederick, continued to be a focus of the paper. On July 25, the paper reported in a two-deck, four-column headline that ÒThe State Sunday School And B.Y.P.U. Convention Elects Dr. J.C. White, President--$7,320.05 Raised.Ó When White was severely criticized by fellow clergy for inviting the black National Baptist Convention to hold its annual meeting in Columbia, without first getting approval of state Baptist officials, The Palmetto Leader came to his aid. He continued to remain a focus of religion news as much as religion itself.

Paid items and subscriptions.
A box of information under the staff names in the July 23, 1921 issue of The Southern Indicator raises questions about the extent to which content of the black papers was paid for. The information read: 
ÒImportant: The subscription price to The Indicator only entitles a subscriber to the paper and not to publish free Cards of Thanks, Obituaries, etc. These cost extra.
ÒSend $1.00 with obituaries, $1.00 with a Card of Thanks, $1.00 with a short article on church and Sunday school work, unions, conventions, conferences, etc.
ÒMarriage announcements, $1.00; marriage write-up, $1.00 up. Notices, 50c. up. Send or bring the cash. EditorÓ
This policy also raises questions about whether other newspapers, such as The Palmetto Leader, operated under the same or a similar policy later in the decade.
Subscribers might have been the primary source of income for The Leader. Soon after finishing its first year, The Palmetto Leader began calling on subscribers to pay their bills. A full-page ad stated:
ÒWe most heartily appreciate your support for the year just past. We have had quite a prosperous year. But as you know, it takes money to keep the LEADER going. We have been publishing this paper for more than a year. All subscriptions, that is, those who have not paid for the ensuing year, are due. 
ÒWe will appreciate an early remittance.
ÒThe Postal authorities do not allow us to carry subscribers who have not paid up.
ÒPlease govern yourselves accordingly. Let us have a remittance from those in arrears at once.Ó

Apparently subscribers were not limited to in-state residents. In the October 26, 1926 issue, in a front page boxed notice with the headline ÒAttention! Agents, Reporters And Contributors,Ó manager George H. Hampton admonished them to get Òall communications etc..Ó to the office by Wednesdays Òin order that our out of State subscribers may get their papers Saturday.Ó
But, alas, subscribers meant a tenuous existence. Hampton had to tell his readers in the January 22, 1927 issue, ÒThe Palmetto Leader began the third year of its existence on last week. There are some who paid when they subscribed and are still paying. There are others who pay when the year is up. Others pay our Collectors when they call to see them. While there are Others who do not pay at all. We have worked earnestly and hard to give the Colored of this city and State especially an up-to-date weekly newspaper, but have lost money on the venture.Ó  Hampton goes on to explain that after 30 days, he Òwill be forced to ÔCUT OFFÕÓ subscribers who have not paid for the paper.
Again on March 12, 1927, Hampton warned in a front-page ÒNotice!Ó ÒWe have cut off only a few delinquent subscribers. After April 1st all subscribers in arrears will be dropped from the list.Ó ÒNotice! Reporters and Contributors.Ó There is no evidence that he did.

Conclusion
This research adds to the growing body of history of black newspapers which shows the importance of the black middle class to the success of these publications. As late as 1930 in South Carolina, five years after The Palmetto Leader was founded, 29.9% (156,065) of blacks in the state  were still considered illiterate and only 38.7% of blacks in the state lived in urban areas. But that also meant that 70% (548,577) of the 783,681 blacks in South Carolina could read and its major urban centers, especially Columbia and Charleston, had a critical mass of such residents. South Carolina was one of the few states that had a majority black population. Whites became the majority population due to the migration North in the 1920s. Even with blacks leaving the state however, they were also leaving the rural areas for the urban centers. ColumbiaÕs black population grew from 14,455 blacks in 1920 to 19,519 in 1930. Blacks in the urban centers suffered under the system of segregation, as elsewhere in the South, Òand Òmany black professionals had to double as skilled or semiskilled laborers or shopkeepers in order to make a living. . . Despite its obvious drawbacks,  however, Columbia was also a city of at least some opportunity and securityÓ for blacks because it was the state capital and had two black colleges -- Benedict College and Allen University.  It was among this population that The Palmetto Leader found its core financial support and readership. That along with the skills and interest of the men behind the newspaper got it off to a successful start. If the early years examined by this study are a true indication, The Palmetto Leader needs to take its place alongside significant black newspapers in the South during the early 20th century. Further research will examine additional years with a special attention to the paperÕs connection to the black middle class. The The Palmetto Leader offers a stark contrast to the typical depiction of South Carolina blacks as uneducated, submissive sharecroppers prior to the Civil Rights Movement.



See Hemmingway, p. 290-292 for following information.

Extreme poverty -- A black middle class had emerged in Columbia by the 1920s. For example, Capital Club and the Knights of Pythias.

High rate of literacy -- In 1910, of the 835,843 blacks in South Carolina, some 226,242 (or 38.7%) were considered illiterate.  In 1930, of the 783,681 blacks in South Carolina, some 156,065 (or 29.9%) were considered illiterate. 
        It is also important to note the decrease in black population, the decrease in possible readers. If the better-educated blacks were the ones leaving, those who were more likely to achieve middle class status were the ones leaving, it raises questions about the focus on increased literacy at this time as such an important factor.

Rural nature of the state -- In 1910, some 12.2% of blacks in South Carolina lived in urban areas.  In 1930,  that percentage was 38.7%.