Jesse Max Barber

Jesse Max Barber, often known simply as Max or J. Max Barber, was born to formerly enslaved parents in Blackstock, South Carolina. He worked as a barber to put himself through school at Benedict College and, later, Virginia Union University. It was at Virginia Union that Barber first became involved in journalism. He served as both the student editor of the University Journal and as the President of the Literary Society. After graduating, Max Barber moved from Virginia to Atlanta to take a position working for the Voice of the Negro, a monthly African American literary magazine. By 1906, just a few years after joining the magazine, Barber had helped elevate the Voice to America’s leading African American magazine and he welcomed articles from Black intellectuals of all political leanings. In fact, Barber himself had become a leading voice among Black journalists as one of the founders of the Niagara Movement.

Following the violence of 1906 and the publication of his account of the events of the massacre, Barber was forced to flee north due to death threats from white vigilantes. Unfortunately, Barber’s ideology, evidenced by his participation in the Niagara Movement, clashed with the ideology of Booker T. Washington. Washington used his vast influence to ensure that Barber was not able to get or keep another editorial job after moving to Chicago. To escape the negative influence of Washington, Barber moved to Philadelphia and began studying for a new career as a dentist. After establishing a successful dental practice, Max Barber remained involved in politics and later served as the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Philadelphia.