Rufus Logan

{{Short description|American newspaper editor}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}

Rufus Logan was the editor of The Professional World, a newspaper for African Americans established in Columbia, Missouri in 1901.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28091705/information-about-rufus-logan-and/|title=Information about Rufus Logan and Columbia, MO|newspaper=The Professional World|date=November 15, 1901|pages=1|via=newspapers.com}} It was published until about 1921.{{Cite web|last=Javed|first=Aiman|title=The Professional World: A newspaper shrouded in mystery|url=https://www.voxmagazine.com/news/features/the-professional-world-newspaper-shrouded-in-mystery-black-press-missouri-history-columbia/article_7b3fb826-4025-11eb-8659-ebebc3d962aa.html|access-date=2021-07-23|website=Vox Magazine|language=en}} Anderson Logan was his father.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28094314/rufus-logan-is-son-of-anderson-logan-of/|title=Rufus Logan is son of Anderson Logan of New Bloomfield|newspaper=The Professional World|date=January 16, 1903|pages=4|via=newspapers.com}}

File:The Professional World Nov 8 1901.jpg

Logan was described as being from Jefferson City, having "considerable" teaching and writing experience, and having been educated at Lincoln Institute.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28092438/rufus-logan-announced-as-the-new-editor/|title=Rufus Logan announced as the new editor of Columbia, MO newspaper|newspaper=Plattsburg Leader|date=November 8, 1901|pages=2|via=newspapers.com}}

Columbia was at least a third African American during the early 20th century. Logan advocated for the establishment of black businesses in the area.{{Cite web|date=May 20, 2015|url=https://www.columbiatribune.com/article/20150520/News/305209947|title=Sharp End: Before 1910|website=Columbia Daily Tribune}}

Logan and his paper had a rivalry with the St. Louis Palladium and its editor John W. Wheeler.

The paper covered career advancements of black professionals, black businesses, and events such as a visit by Booker T. Washington and a Blind Boone concert.{{Cite web|url=http://columbiaheartbeat.blogspot.com/2011/02/bottomlands-geography-of-inequality-in_22.html|title=The Columbia Heart Beat: Bottomlands: The Geography of Inequality in Columbia, Missouri|first=Michael|last=Martin|date=February 18, 2011}} The Professional World lasted until about 1920.

In 1921, Logan was appointed to the Board of Curators of Lincoln University.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QewaAQAAIAAJ&q=%22rufus+logan%22+columbia+missouri&pg=PA94|title=Journal of the Senate of the State of Missouri|first=Missouri General Assembly|last=Senate|date=April 28, 1923|via=Google Books}} He was involved in the controversial reappointment of the university's president Inman E. Page.{{Cite web|last1=Holland|first1=Antonio F.|last2=Roberts|first2=Timothy R.|last3=White|first3=Dennis|last4=Hearn|first4=Rosemary|date=1991-01-01|title=Soldiers' dream continued: a pictorial history of Lincoln University of Missouri|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/235156088.pdf |website=Lincoln University|access-date=2021-07-23}}

Logan was critical of John W. Wheeler's St. Louis Palladium newspaper. Logan ran an unsigned editorial innthe World that said the Palladium was "filled with whiskey and wine room ads., and has no regard for the truth." The editorial took exception to Wheeler's calling the editor of a third African-American newspaper, the American Eagle, an "old black man."[https://www.newspapers.com/image/64266389/?terms=%22St.%2BLouis%2BPalladium%22 The Professional World, October 2, 1903, Page 4]

Such references are disgraceful to the editorial profession and no respectable editor would make use of such. But this is characteristic of the Palladium, and, the worst of all, this bulldozing editor has "Rev." before his name. . . . The Palladium never contains an editorial, but this is easily accounted for as it takes something more than a lead pencil and a tablet to produce an editorial (intelligence) and this is something the Palladium has not.

The Library of Congress has issues of the paper.{{Cite news|website=National Endowment for the Humanities|title=About The Professional World. (Columbia, Mo.) 1901-192?|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89066321/|access-date=2021-07-23|publisher=Library of Congress|issn=2326-8530}}