The People in Daisy's Life: A Photo Album

I've been running a series over on Bluesky, a photo album of the people in Daisy Lampkin's life. The breadth of her social connections, her activist allies, and her political networks is breathtaking. The following give some sense of that scope, and how she (and others) overlapped their community and national networks, enriching both. Follow along for more on my Daisy Lampkin biography project.

The lady herself, Daisy Elizabeth Adams Lampkin (1883-1965). Lampkin was instrumental in the western PA suffrage movement, in the Pittsburgh Courier, and in national NAACP organizing. A fundraiser, organizer, and activist, she was also a mentor, here surrounded by the young ladies of the Courier.

Little is known of Daisy's faithful husband, William (1879-1971; seated to her right). From Rome, GA, he was a chauffeur, and later caterer and restaurateur. Supported Daisy's hectic schedule, often coming stag to social events while she was away on NAACP business. Baked cakes for her fundraisers.

Rev. N. D. Temple was Daisy Lampkin's step-uncle, brother of her mother's second husband. Part of the Philadelphia AME district, Temple planted congregations throughout the region, likely helping introduce Daisy into area society. He offered exciting science demonstrations in evening presentations.

Daisy and William did not have children, but when her close ally TJ Jackson died unexpectedly, the Lampkins took in his daughter, their goddaughter, Romaine and raised her as their own. After marrying, Romaine and Earl Childs lived with the Lampkins. Earl Jr. became a dentist like his father.

Sources credit Daisy with the call that convinced Thurgood Marshall to join the NAACP's legal efforts, a claim I have not yet independently verified. It is true that the two shared a close relationship, he attending a 1957 banquet in her honor in Pittsburgh, she serving as Thurgood Jr.'s godmother.

In 1912 Lampkin began to accumulate shares in the Pittsburgh Courier. Thus began her partnership with legendary Courier publisher Robert L. Vann (1879-1940). When he died unexpectedly, she was already a Courier VP, offering leadership continuity to this crucial staple of Black life in America.

Friend, colleague, and ally Jessie Vann (1885-1967) assumed control of the Pgh. Courier upon husband Robert's passing, taking the newspaper to new heights. Alongside Daisy, Jessie was one of the great hostesses of black Pittsburgh, helping to convert social networks into formidable political power.

An early node in Daisy's statewide network was Ruth Bennett (1866-1947), from Chester, PA. Bennett sought to ameliorate living conditions for southern girls moving north for factory work. President of the State Federation of Pennsylvania Negro Women’s Clubs and the first NAACP chapter in Chester.

Lampkin met Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) in the 1920s when she worked with the PA State Federation of Pennsylvania Negro Women’s Clubs, becoming lifelong friends and political allies. Lampkin co-founded Bethune's National Council of Negro Women in 1935, and eulogized Bethune in 1955.

Racketeer, investor, benefactor, and owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Gus Greenlee was a central figure in the development of the vibrant community known as "the Hill" where Daisy lived. His famed Crawford Grilles incubated much of the musical talent that flowed out of Pittsburgh in the 1930s-60s.

I have not fixed any direct ties between Gus Greenlee and Daisy, but that is not true of Greenlee's partner, "Woogie" Harris, another legendary numbers runner. Harris frequented the Loendi Club and was a part of Daisy's social set. Became a major benefactor of the National Negro Opera Company.

Most of the photographs in this series were taken by the great Charles "Teenie" Harris. "One-Shot," they called him, Teenie was a photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier. He was also Woogie Harris's brother. Tens of thousands of his photos are searchable at: https://carnegieart.org/art/charles-teenie-harris-archive/

Lampkin became regional organizer for the NAACP in 1929, then national field secretary in 1937. In 1931, under her organization, the national conference was held in Pittsburgh. Here she is in front row in white with hat. W.E.B. DuBois sits to her direct left, Walter White five more seats to her left.

Though raised in the AME tradition, Lampkin joined Grace Mem. Presbyterian Church when she moved to Pittsburgh. She routed much of her extensive charitable and political work through the church (and vice versa), deepening community ties. Here her longtime minister, Rev. and Mrs. Harold Tolliver.

Pittsburgh produced prodigious musical talent, including Earl Hines, Mary Lou Williams, Billy Strayhorn, Errol Garner, Lena Horne, and more. Many of these played at the prestigious Loendi Club, or one of the many jazz clubs on the Hill. Here Daisy Lampkin moons over the crooner Billy Eckstine.

During Lampkin's time there, the Courier housed talented journalists, such as Frank Bolden (1912-2003), one of only two accredited overseas African American reporters during WWII. Bolden offered landmark reports on Black troops in the Far East, and historic interviews with Gandhi and others.

Lampkin maintained prodigious political connections, beginning when she was twice named as a delegate to 1924 and '28 GOP presidential nominating conventions, the first African American woman so honored. Here legendary Pgh. Mayor David Lawrence fetes her at a 1957 banquet in her honor, along with Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Vann, and Roy Wilkins.

Grace Lowndes was a dear friend of Lampkin, one of the many women whose overlapping activism stitched together the community. Lowndes helped found the Urban League in Pgh. and often represented the Hill to municipal hearings and other civic proceedings. She and Daisy often vacationed together.