Chandler Owen

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Chandler Owen
Chandler Owen, 1919
Circumstances
Notable credit(s)

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Chandler Owen (1889 - 1967) was an African-American writer, editor and early member of the Socialist Party of America. Born in North Carolina he studied and worked in New York, then moved to Chicago for much of his career. He established his own public relations company in Chicago and wrote speeches for candidates and presidents including Thomas Dewey, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Owen was born in Warrenton, North Carolina, in 1889. He graduated from Virginia Union University in 1913. Later, while attending Columbia University in 1916, he made friends with A. Philip Randolph, whom he joined in the Socialist Party of America. The two followed the lead of the radical activist Hubert Harrison. They soon became known in Harlem as Lenin (Owen) and Trotsky (Randolph). The two started a journal in 1917, called The Messenger, which published leading literary and political writers. Soon after, while Owens was running for the New York State Assembly, he and Randolph were jailed, where they were mocked and treated cruelly for their Socialist affiliations.

Owen moved to Chicago, Illinois shortly after. He found himself quickly disillusioned with socialistic views. He became managing editor of the Chicago Bee, a major African-American publication. He continued to back Randolph in his efforts to unionize Pullman porters on the railroads. With his success, Owen went on to establish his own public relations company. He remained interested in politics and wrote many speeches for politicians such as Wendell Willkie, Thomas Dewey, and even for presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson.

In the 1920s, Owens became a Republican. He later ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives but was unsuccessful. For the remainder of his life, Owen worked in public relations and continue to write speeches.

Late in life he suffered from kidney disease. He wrote one last letter to Phillip Randolph saying, "Our long friendship, never soiled, is nearing its close. I've been in pain. If you were not living. I would commit suicide today." Owens died soon after in November 1967.