Ella & John Ryan

January 21, 2007 
/ Contributed By: Turkiya Lowe

John H. Ryan|

John H. Ryan

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Born on Aug. 6, 1865 in Chillicothe, Ohio to George R. and Mary Elizabeth (Gatliffe) Ryan, John Henry Ryan was one of twelve children.  Ella (Alexander) Ryan’s origins are more unclear; however she was raised in Missouri as one of at least three children.  John H. and Ella Ryan moved to Spokane, Washington in 1889 along with several of John’s other siblings. Ella Ryan owned a successful beauty salon while John Ryan became a prominent local businessman.  The Ryans moved briefly to Seattle in 1900 where John Ryan worked in the newspaper industry.

The Ryans settled in Tacoma, Washington in early 1903, publishing the city’s first black-owned newspaper called The Weekly.  The publication quickly became defunct.  The Ryans began publishing The Forum in July 1903 out of their home at 206-7 Washington Buildings, using Graham-Hickman Co. at 1013 A. Street as its publisher.  The Forum was published from 1903 to 1918 and mainly reported on local, state, and national politics.  The paper heavily supported the Republican Party but was not adverse to endorsing policies and candidates from the Democratic and even Progressive Parties.  The paper also initially focused on the social activities of Washington state’s black community.  Ella Ryan became editor of The Forum in 1906 after John H. Ryan became more directly involved in politics.

John and Ella Ryans were charter members of the Tacoma NAACP and the Republican Party. Yet between 1920 to 1940, John Ryan was elected to the state legislature three times by three different political parties–Farm Labor, Republican, and Democratic–from majority white districts. In 1921 with widespread grassroots support organized by the NAACP, John Ryan, the only black member of the Washington state legislature, successfully argued against the passage of an Anti-Interracial Marriage Bill.

About the Author

Author Profile

Dr. Turkiya L. Lowe serves as National Park Service (NPS) Supervisory Historian and Deputy Federal Preservation Officer, managing the NPS Park History Program in Washington, D.C. She holds a doctorate and master’s degree in 20th century U.S. and African American history from the University of Washington as well as a Bachelor’s degree in history from Howard University.

National preservation programs under her administration include: the African American Civil Rights Network, the American World War II Heritage Cities program, the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act program, and the Maritime Heritage Grant program as well as the NPS’s administrative and oral history programs.

Dr. Lowe served as NPS Southeast Regional (SER) Historian and manager for the SER Cultural Resource Research and Science Branch, and also had the privilege to serve as Acting Superintendent of Cane River Creole National Historical Park. She also worked in the Region’s Office of Interpretation and Education, where she was the Regional Program Manager for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program assisting communities and stewards to tell the stories of Black resistance to enslavement through escape and flight.

Dr. Lowe also has worked as national Program Manager for the Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program and a staff reviewer for the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks programs. One of her favorite projects was analyzing and assisting with increased nomination and designation of historic sites associated with the histories of people of color and other underrepresented communities through the 2006 Preserve America Summit.

Dr. Lowe consulted as a Principal Investigator on historic preservation projects in collaboration with the NPS Seattle Support Office, investigating the history of civil rights in the Pacific Northwest and identifying historic properties for potential preservation and interpretation efforts.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Lowe, T. (2007, January 21). Ella & John Ryan. BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/ryan-ella-john/

Source of the Author's Information:

Gary Reese Fuller, Who We Are: An Information History of Tacoma’s Black Community before W.W.I. (Tacoma: Tacoma Public Library, 1992)

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