About

13 cubic feet; photographic, printed, manuscript.
9,000 prints approx.
200 negatives approx.

Collection Description

The Dallas Post-Tribune photographs are the photographic files of an African American owned and operated newspaper and are supplemented by manuscript and printed material. The photographic prints, primarily covering the years 1966-1993, were published in the Post-Tribune and came from many sources, from in-house and contract photographers, and from publicity bureaus, businesses, and news organizations.

The Dallas Post-Tribune, originally called the Tyler Tribune, was established in 1950 by Bert Cromwell Muse. Muse (1909-1983) was born in the Shady Grove Community and raised in rural Cherokee County, Texas and attended Prairie View A&M University, beginning in 1928, but was interrupted by the Depression.

In 1935 he moved to Tyler, Texas, teaching at Stanton Rural High School and publishing a small 4-page Tyler community newspaper. He returned to Prairie View and graduated in 1938 with a Bachelor of Science degree. After World War II, in 1946, Muse opened and operated a vocational trade school for veterans in Tyler and began publishing the Amnegro Monthly Magazine and the Tyler Tribune Weekly Newspaper. The magazine discontinued publication, but in 1950 the newspaper caught the attention of a consortium of African American investors who purchased 50% ownership and moved the paper to Dallas. The consortium included such Dallas community leaders as Dr. Lee G. Pinkston, Pearl C. Anderson, A. E. Whipple, Reverend I. B. Loud, Reverend E. C. Estell, C. J. Clark, and Attorney W. J. Durham.

The paper was renamed the Dallas Post-Tribune in 1950. In the mid-1950s, financial constraints compelled Muse to sell his interest in the paper and Dr. L. G. Pinkston became publisher. In 1962 the paper was bought out by another consortium and Muse was reinstalled as publisher. After one year Muse stepped down and Mr. H. L. Fagan became publisher. He was followed by Dickie Foster, who built the newspaper into a major voice in the Dallas African American community.

Fred Finch and Lee J. Davis were publishers in the early 1980s. About 1982 Finch left the Post-Tribune to start the Dallas Examiner. Dr. Theodore R. Lee, a principal and teacher in the Dallas Independent School District for forty years, became the publisher in 1988.

The Dallas Post-Tribune Photographs are a significant body of work documenting the history of African American in Dallas over nearly forty years. The collection is especially rich in representing Dallas’ black business and religious leaders, politicians, educators, and trade professionals. The daily life of black Dallasites is also well-documented. In addition, national African American culture is reflected in the publicity materials sent to the newspaper regarding advertising, politics, business, music, sports, fashion, and entertainment news. Internationally-known figures, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, and Thurgood Marshall, are substantially represented.

The Dallas Post-Tribune Photographs consist of several series. The main series is prints, which are divided into two sub-series: prints organized by issue for issues published from 1972 to 1992, and an existing general classified file, which includes such file headings as basketball, baseball, football, entertainment, local, and national. Local churches and ministers are found in the C portion of the series. Many of the prints in the classified file date from the mid-1960s (some probably earlier), through 1992.

Dallas photographers represented in the Dallas Post-Tribune Collection include A. B. Bell, Dewitt Humphrey/Humphrey and Jones Photographers, Marion Butts, Harper Studio, Floyd Ferguson (Ferguson Fotos), E. C. Hickman, Richard Manson, Bill Winfrey, George Keaton, Ducks and Co. Photographers, Gittings Studio, Don Graff, and the Kirby Studio.

Arrangement: prints arranged chronologically by newspaper issue date and by alphabetized classified subject category.

Copyright and permissions: use in educational research and publication only. Photographs will be reviewed to determine source; permission from copyright holder must be secured by requestor.

Source: T. R. Lee, Dallas Post-Tribune