On April 20, 2024, the first issue of 63 years publishing of the Gary Crusader in Gary, Indiana, rolled off the press and was distributed to its readers and subscribers. There was no celebration with fireworks, or a gala dinner as had been celebrated in years past, but the ownership of this publication is so very proud to have been a part of Gary’s history by reporting the news and highlighting the accomplishments of so many fine citizens of this often-maligned city.
It is with high hopes that Gary’s landscape will look different in the coming years, after having survived decades of an onslaught of disinvestment of government and businesses in once a small but vibrant community. A city built to be housing only for workers of the steel mill. Little did the founder Elbert Gary envision or hope for it to be anything more than that.
What Elbert Gary’s hope for this town named after him, was the financial profits that would be derived from a booming steel industry. It was ideally suited on the shores of Lake Michigan, and it attracted workers from all parts of the country seeking a better life for their themselves and their families.
It was a segregated city, with boundaries where families of African descent could only live in certain sections, divided by railroad tracks. Gary’s African American citizens were relegated to Midtown. Little did they know that the closeness of that Black community was a proud citizenry, that would work hard to provide the necessities for their families, but whose ethics were woven from their ancestors to be educated and of high morals and provided family cohesiveness that were severely broken when Africans were stolen from the shores of Africa and families separated.
Open Housing was the issue that beckoned Balm L. Leavell, Jr., and Joseph H. Jefferson to step out on faith and dedication to help their people wherever needed and landed them in Gary, Indiana. Black people were not permitted to enjoy the scenic pleasures of Marquette Park and so many issues that were available to other citizens of Gary in 1961. The duo had been successful in telling the stories and laid the groundwork for many successes for the disenfranchised in Chicago. The Crusader newspaper in Chicago, Illinois was a by-product that was borne from an organization called the Negro Labor Relations League. It was the Polk brothers (Hasan and Samuel Adib) that prevailed upon Leavell and Jefferson to bring the same fighting spirit and success to Gary. It was because of their invitation that the Gary Crusader started publishing 63 years ago.
In this abbreviated history of the Gary Crusader there has never been any regrets for that decision. The open housing campaign that the Crusader was a main proponent of was successful, the first Black Mayor of a major city was elected in Gary in 1968 with the election of Richard G. Hatcher, the only convention of Black elected officials was held in Gary in 1972 orchestrated by then Mayor Hatcher and so many events too numerous to spell out here, the Gary Crusader and Gary Info newspapers, as members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, hosted its annual convention in Gary in 1983. There were many firsts that put Gary on the map of progressive achievements of Black Americans. Sons and daughters of Gary, Indiana are a part of Gary’s rich history, actors, athletes, educators, politicians, businessmen/women, you name it, Gary is represented among its most notables.
Times have changed, Gary has been severely wounded by the bigoted individuals that moved out of Gary because a Black man was elected mayor; a city maligned daily by a daily newspaper that could not find any positive news to report and caused devastating hurt to Gary’s image. Through it all Gary still shines brightly in the eyes of its many citizens that stayed put and continues to call Gary home.
The newspaper industry has drastically changed as well. Large numbers of people are tuned into the new digital age. The death of printed newspapers’ obituary has been printed, large sums of money are now available to non-profit and digital-only products that were never available to printed newspapers, least of all Black printed newspapers. Yet, the publishers and staffs who are aware of the needs of so many of our citizens that are still looming large, continue to publish each week across the country. We are proud to say the Gary Crusader is among them. In 1968, upon the death of my first husband, Balm L Leavell, Jr., I became publisher. I was first employed by the Crusader family 63 years ago, so I share in this celebration in a very personal way.
And at this, the observance of the 63rd year of the Gary Crusader, we pledge we will continue to support and provide good news to the Gary community that so richly deserves it.
Dorothy R Leavell
Dorothy R. Leavell continues to be at the helm of the Black Press ofAmerica. Since 1968, she has served as editor and publisher of the Crusader Newspaper Group—Chicago and Gary, Ind.—after the death of her first husband Balm L. Leavell Jr., co-founder of both publications in 1940 and 1961, respectively. Once at the helm of the company, Mrs. Leavell instituted modern changes to enhance the production and effectiveness of the newspapers. She also stabilized her holdings by purchasing and upgrading the buildings, which housed its editorial and production facilities. Since its inception, the Chicago Crusader and Gary Crusader have never missed a single issue.
