Elmer A. Carter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elmer Anderson Carter (July 19, 1890 - January 16, 1973) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was involved with the National Urban League and was an editor of Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life.
Carter was born in Rochester, New York on July 19, 1890.[1] His father, George C. Carter, was a Methodist minister and his mother, Florence Carter, "was a companion and friend to Harriet Tubman."[2] As a boy, he met Tubman and was proud of that fact throughout his life.[3] In 1899, the family moved to Gloversville, New York where his father became the pastor of the local African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.[4] Elmer Carter graduated from Gloversville High School in 1907 and he went on to Harvard University, graduating in 1912.[4] In school, he was well-known as an orator.[5] He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[6] After graduating from Harvard, he taught history at Prairie View State Normal College.[4]
During World War I, Carter served with the 92nd Division overseas where he fought in the Meuse–Argonne offensive.[7][4] After the war, he started working as a secretary for the National Urban League at the Columbus, Ohio office.[4] He worked for the league in Louisville, Kentucky and Minneapolis–Saint Paul.[4] For the St. Paul Urban League, Carter had a role in creating the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center.[8] As a member of the League, Carter spoke in favor of anti-lynching legislation in 1934.[9]
Carter became the editor of Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life in 1928 and continued in that capacity until 1942.[10][11] He wrote for other magazines and journals including, the Birth Control Review, Labor Age,The Messenger, and Survey Graphic.[12][13] During World War II, Carter wrote about discrimination in the US Military and called for Black combat troops to serve with Chinese soldiers who had "no color line."[14]
Governor Herbert H. Lehman appointed Carter to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board in 1937.[3] In 1945, Carter was appointed the New York State Commission Against Discrimination, which later became the New York State Division of Human Rights.[15] In 1953, he became the first Black man to run as a Republican candidate for president of the Manhattan Borough.[16] Carter resigned from the New York State Human Rights Division in 1961.[3] He continued to work in politics, advising Governor Nelson Rockefeller on "race relations."[3][17]
