The Advocate was a weekly newspaper in Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 in the U.S. state of Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, established to cover issues relating to racial minorities. It was founded in 1903 and is believed to have run until 1933, the latest date for which microfilm is available.

In its early days it was known as the Mt. Scott Herald (published in Lents

Lents, Portland, Oregon

The Lents neighborhood in the Southeast section of Portland, Oregon is bordered by SE Powell Blvd. on the north, the Clackamas County line or City of Portland line on the south , SE 82nd Ave. to the west, and roughly SE 112th on the east. The NE corner overlaps with the Powellhurst-Gilbert...

 from 1913 to 1924) and possibly as the Beaver State Herald (published in Gresham

Gresham, Oregon

- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 90,205 people, 33,327 households, and 22,695 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,071.6 people per square mile . There were 35,309 housing units at an average density of 1,593.8 per square mile...

 and Montavilla).

Editors

In 1912, Beatrice Morrow came to Portland and married Advocate editor Edward Cannady. At the time, Portland had an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 population of barely 1,000, and Beatrice Morrow Cannady quickly became involved in civil rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

 issues, including protesting the showing of The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...

. Along with continuing to work on The Advocate and giving hundreds of talks and presentations, Cannady graduated from the Northwestern College of Law in 1922, and she worked to remove racist language from the Oregon Constitution

Oregon Constitution

The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights. This contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the United States Bill of...

. She was finally successful in 1927. She continued her work in Oregon through the 1930s, when she moved to California.