Ruth Apilado

Ruth Apilado (born Ruth Mosselle Mays; April 30, 1908) is an American newspaper editor, novelist, anti-racism activist, and founder of America's Intercultural Magazine.[1]

Ruth Apilado
Born
Ruth Mosselle Mays

(1908-04-30) April 30, 1908
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Occupation
  • Newspaper editor
  • novelist
  • anti-racism campaigner
  • magazine founder
Known forAmerica Intercultural Magazine

Early life and career

Apilado was born on April 30, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents were Stewart and Clara (née Whetsel) Mays.[2] Her maternal grandmother had emigrated from Canada to Ohio, and was partly indigenous. Her paternal great-grandfather was a slave owner in Virginia.[3]

Apilado attended McKinley High School, which closed in 1954.[3] She became a teacher in 1928, after graduating from Chicago Normal College (now Chicago State University).[4] She began her journalistic career in 1942, when she briefly worked as an editor for the newly-created Negro Youth Photo Scripts Magazine.[5] In 1945, she wrote a letter to the editor expressing her criticism of Richard Wright's memoir Black Boy, stating that it was an inaccurate depiction of the typical childhood of African-Americans.[6] In 1950, Apilado published a novel called The Joneses, which was about the hardships of a black family living in Chicago.[7]

After retiring from teaching in 1973, Apilado founded America's Intercultural Magazine (AIM), a quarterly-published journal that set out to "bridge the gap between races, cultures, and religions."[8] Already in 1948, an initiative of creating such a journal (called Freedom Press) took place, when she requested the newspaper Berkeley Daily Gazette to assist her and her associates with marketing.[9] Her anti-racism stance was reflected in the editorials that she wrote; for example, she praised the activist and church leader Willa Saunders Jones in 1975.[10] On June 16, 1990, she participated as a panelist at a writers' conference in Elgin Community College in Illinois.[11]

Personal life

Apilado's husband was Filipino-American Inosencio Apilado. Their son, Myron Apilado, was the vice-president of minority affairs at University of Washington until the year 2000, as well as an editor of AIM.[12] On August 26, 2004, at age 96, she was interviewed by Larry Crowe of The History Makers, a project that produces oral history material by African-Americans.[2] Her second cousin was journalist Lu Palmer.[3]

References
  1. "Cygan: Citizens should voice resolutions for our new government". Sudbury Town Crier. January 16, 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  2. "The HistoryMakers video oral history with Ruth Apilado [electronic resource]". University of Pennsylvania. August 26, 2004. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  3. "Finding Aid to The HistoryMakers ® Video OralHistory with Ruth Apilado" (PDF). The History Makers. August 26, 2004. p. 5. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  4. "$10 gives start to library for negro children". Chicago Tribune. April 14, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  5. "New Negro Youth Magazine Attracts Attention". The Weekly Review. May 29, 1942. p. 2. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  6. Fielder, Brigitte; Senchyne, Jonathan (May 14, 2019). Against a Sharp White Background: Infrastructures of African American Print. University of Wisconsin. pp. 87–90. ISBN 978-0299321505. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  7. "The Joneses Wins Award" (PDF). The Herald. August 3, 1950. p. 26. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  8. McNif, Marni (December 1, 2007). The Best of the Magazine Markets for Writers 2008. Writer's Institute Publications. ISBN 978-1889715391. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  9. "Personal Opinion". Berkeley Daily Gazette. April 17, 1948. p. 6. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  10. Hallstoos, Brian James (December 2009). Windy city, holy land: Willa Saunders Jones and black sacred music and drama. University of Iowa. p. 14. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  11. "Writers' conference". Daily Herald. May 24, 1990. p. 113. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  12. "UW vice president for minority affairs to step down". University of Washington. February 14, 2000. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
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