Robert S. Abbott
Robert S. Abbott was a significant figure in early 20th-century American journalism, known for founding the Chicago Defender, one of the most influential African American newspapers of his time. Born on November 18, 1868, in Georgia to former slaves, Abbott faced numerous challenges, including racial discrimination, which influenced his commitment to advocating for the rights of Black Americans. He was educated in institutions such as Beach Institute and Hampton Institute, where he was inspired by notable leaders, including Booker T. Washington.
After earning a law degree in 1899, Abbott abandoned his legal ambitions due to racial barriers, turning instead to printing. In 1905, he launched the Chicago Defender with the intent to inform and empower Black communities, particularly encouraging the migration of African Americans from the South to the North. Under his leadership, the Defender grew remarkably, with a circulation reaching 230,000 within a decade. Abbott also contributed to other newspapers and held various civic roles in Chicago. He passed away on February 29, 1940, leaving behind a legacy as a pioneer in Black journalism and a tireless advocate against racial prejudice.
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Robert S. Abbott
- Born: November 24, 1868
- Birthplace: Frederica, St. Simons Island, Georgia
- Died: February 29, 1940
- Place of death: Chicago, Illinois
Biography
Robert S. Abbott, the first son of former slave parents, was born at Frederica, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia on November 18, 1868. He never knew his father, Thomas Abbott, who died soon after Robert’s birth. When he was five, his mother, Flora (Butler) Abbott, married John Hermann Sengstacke, the son of a slave mother and a German father. Young Robert was given his stepfather’s surname as a middle name. Sengstacke became a Congregational clergyman, a teacher, and an important influence on his stepson. From him, Abbott learned the importance of striving for full rights for black Americans.
Abbott was educated at Beach Institute in Savannah, where he grew up, at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and at Hampton Institute in Virginia. There he met the eminent Booker T. Washington, a graduate of Hampton, who returned to the institute frequently. Graduating in 1896, Abbott earned a bachelor of laws degree at Kent College of Law in Chicago three years later, but after encountering racial prejudice in attempts to establish a law practice in several Midwestern cities, he gave up the attempt and went to work as a printer.
Nearly penniless, on May 15, 1905, he borrowed paper and ink from a print shop owner and launched his own newspaper, the Chicago Defender, as an organ to promote the rights of African Americans. His first edition was four pages long. The paper, which became his life’s work, proved both informative and inflammatory. Its pages encouraged the migration of poor blacks to the North and provided job notices and other information of use to those who answered his call. It was said that he was responsible for the migration to Chicago of more than fifty thousand Southern blacks. He used red headlines on stories of lynchings in the South. Within a decade, its circulation reached 230,000.
In 1918, he married Helen Thornton Morrison, a widow from Athens, Georgia, but this union ended in divorce in 1933. His second wife, Edna, was also a widow. Having no children of his own, he designated his nephew John H. Sengstacke as the inheritor of his business, but throughout his life, Abbott held the titles of president, publisher, and treasurer of the Defender. He also established newspapers in Detroit and in Louisville, Kentucky, and was appointed to many civic commissions and boards in Chicago. His health declined in the 1930’s, and he died on February 29, 1940, of Bright’s disease.
In his lifetime, Abbott was awarded honorary doctorates by Morris Brown and Wilberforce Universities. At his death, Major Edward J. Kelley of Chicago described him as “among the immortals of his race.” The National Conference of Negro Publishers passed a resolution honoring him for his tireless work in combating racial prejudice.