Marvel Cooke

Marvel Cooke (April 4, 1903 - November 29, 2000) was a journalist, writer, and civil rights activist. She was the first African-American woman to work at a mainstream white-owned newspaper.

Related Topics:
April 4 - 1903 - November 29 - 2000 - Journalist - Writer - Civil rights - Activist - African-American - Newspaper

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Cooke was born in Mankato, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota. Settling in Harlem, New York, she worked as secretary for W. E. B. DuBois, the editor of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis.

Related Topics:
Mankato, Minnesota - University of Minnesota - Harlem, New York - W. E. B. DuBois - NAACP - The Crisis

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She broke off her engagement to (later NAACP leader) Roy Wilkins because she thought him too conservative.

Related Topics:
Roy Wilkins - Conservative

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In the 1930s, Cooke helped create a local of The Newspaper Guild, participating in an eleven-week strike at the Amsterdam News. During the strike, she joined the Communist Party.

Related Topics:
1930s - The Newspaper Guild - Strike - Amsterdam News - Communist Party

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After stints on the Black newspapers, Amsterdam News and the People's Voice, she was hired as a journalist by the New York paper, the Compass. The following year, she described her experiences working as a domestic in white homes under the title, "I Was a Slave".

Related Topics:
People's Voice - Slave

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Cooke served as New York director of the Council of Arts, Sciences and Professions during the 1950s.

Related Topics:
Council of Arts, Sciences and Professions - 1950s

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In the 1970s, she served as national treasurer of the Angela Davis Defense Fund.

Related Topics:
1970s - Angela Davis

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