Biography:

James Samuel Stemons was born in Clarksville, Tennessee, and settled in Philadelphia circa 1900. A postal worker, journalist, and writer, he served as the editor of two short-lived African American newspapers: The Philadelphia Courant and The Pilot. He was also active in several civic organizations. An outspoken advocate for equal industrial opportunities for blacks, he lectured and published extensively on race relations. He served as field secretary of the Joint Organization of the Association for Equalizing Industrial Opportunities and the League of Civic and Political Reform.