Floyd Joseph Calvin (13 July 1901 – 1 September 1939) was an American reporter, columnist, radio host, and news service founder.[1] He worked at The Messenger magazine in New York City and then as a New York correspondent for the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper which, along with the Chicago Defender, were the largest newspapers for African Americans in the country. He founded Calvin News Service which was syndicated by African American weekly newspapers.
In 1927 his radio show sponsored by the Courier was broadcast on
WGBS.[3]
He traveled extensively and wrote about
lynching.[4] He wrote about relations with Catholics.[5] He was critical of
Marcus Garvey's plans to entice African Americans to relocate to a colony in
Liberia. He described the desire of Blacks to exit the south as a reaction to lynching.[6]
He married Willa Lee Johnson and they had three children. Floyd Calvin Jr. died at a young age.[2]