P. B. Young

Plummer Bernard Young Sr. (July 27, 1884 – October 9, 1962), better known as P. B. Young was a newspaper editor, publisher, community leader, and founder of the Norfolk Journal and Guide. He was African American.

Early life and education Plummer Bernard Young was born July 27, 1884, in Littleton, North Carolina. His father, Winfield Young, was born into slavery in 1848 in Halifax County, but learned to read and write under the tutelage of his master's wife. Between 1870 and 1880, Winfield and his young wife, Sallie Adams, moved from Halifax County into Littleton proper, where he ran a dry goods store. By the war's end, it was the fourth-largest black newspaper in the United States, following the Pittsburgh Courier, the Afro-American, and The Chicago Defender.

Writing and views Young described his approach to confronting racism and discrimination as non-confrontational: "I am definitely opposed to frontal attack. I believe in negotiation, arbitration, conciliation and persuasion. If that does not work I resort to the courts." During the 1920s, Young was a Republican, and he became a conservative Democrat during the 1930s.

Young frequently wrote for the newspaper and organized article series to campaign against contemporary racial issues. This stance disagreed with the takes of other black newspapers of the time. It outputted the Durham Manifesto, which condemned Jim Crow and called on liberal and moderate white people to help end racial discrimination. The document spawned commentary, more conferences, and action in the Southern civil rights movement, especially through the 1944 formation of the Southern Regional Council.

Death and legacy Plummer Bernard Young Sr. died October 9, 1962, in Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia. Eleanor White Young had died in 1946 and Plummer remarried in 1950 to Josephine Tucker Moseley. Plummer was survived by Josephine and by his sons, P. B. Jr. and Thomas W. Young. At the time, P. B. Jr. was editor-in-chief of the Guide and Thomas was president and general manager of the Guide Publishing Company.

In addition to receiving honorary degrees from many historically black colleges and universities, Young also served on the board of trustees of Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia; St. Paul's College, Lawrenceville, Virginia; Palmer Memorial Institute, Sedalia, North Carolina; and Howard University, Washington, D.C.. Young was also chairman of the Howard University board for six years.