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George E. Taylor, 1857-1925
The career of George E. Taylor signals the active political engagement of African Americans after the Civil War. The son of an Arkansas slave and a "free Negro woman" who migrated north around 1859, Taylor was raised and educated in Wisconsin. By 1891 he had moved to Iowa, where he owned and edited the Negro Solicitor and was a leader in the African American community. He lived in Florida from 1891 to 1910, editing three local newspapers and continuing his community involvement. In 1904 he became the National Negro Liberty Party's candidate for president, the first African American standard-bearer of a national political party. Taylor's candidacy was a forlorn hope, reflecting the tragic political and racial realities of the late nineteenth century, during which the national parties turned away from civil rights for African Americans.
Unidentified photographer, c 1910 |