As election results begin to come in, it becomes obvious the impact one person can have, be it through voting in a close election or getting involved in organizing on the grassroots level. Take for instance Talladega College alum John Henry McCray (c/o 1935).

 

John Henry McCray first served as city editor of the Charleston Messenger from 1935 to 1938. In 1939, he started his own newspaper, the Charleston Lighthouse, which was later named the Carolina Lighthouse to reflect McCray’s desire to publish a newspaper with statewide influence.

In 1944, McCray co-founded the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) of South Carolina.The PDP was the first Black Democratic Party in the Southern United States. McCray co-founded the South Carolina Progressive Democratic Party to challenge state and national Democrats who supported segregation and blocked African American voting.

 

An outspoken critic of racial injustice, McCray was a man ahead of his time. Through his tireless labor as an editor, journalist, and activist, he helped end a discriminatory primary system in South Carolina that disenfranchised African American voters, combatted segregation in South Carolina schools and businesses, and, in the case of Isaac Woodard, broke a story about police brutality that brought national attention to the issue and led President Truman to form the first presidential committee on civil rights.

McCray ended his full-time journalism career in 1964 when he joined the staff at Talladega College as an alumni director. He died on September 15, 1987, in Sylacauga, Alabama.