Twentieth Century Frontierswoman

"In Twentieth Century Frontierswoman: A Rhetorical Biography of Almena Davis Lomax Chandra Snell Clark recovers a lesser-known, but incredibly significant voice of the twentieth-century freedom struggle from the footnotes of U.S. history and in so doing contributes to the persistent intervention of the ‘great men paradigm.’ Embracing the 'passionate attachments' of an 'Afrafeminist lens,' Clark illuminates how Lomax utilized 'personal journalism' in her Los Angeles Tribune editorials and columns to advocate for human rights in a similar vein as had her predecessors Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Ann Shadd-Cary and in so doing served as a cultural interpreter and spiritual guide for her generation and beyond. This monograph should be on the reading list of anyone interested in the long history of U.S. freedom struggle and to those committed to the ongoing global social justice crusade." Lori Amber Roessner, Professor and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, School of Journalism and Electronic Media, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Co-editor, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Political Pioneer of the Press: Her Voice, Her Pen, and Her Transnational Crusade for Social Justice, and Author, Inventing Baseball Heroes: Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and the Sporting Press in America
"The remarkable life of Almena Davis Lomax [1915-2011] is beckoned into the light in Twentieth Century Frontierswoman by Chandra Snell Clark. A child at the start of the Great Black Migration, Almena moves west and then as a young adult she hones her journalism craft at Charlotta Bass’ California Eagle. Almena Davis soon created the Los Angeles Tribune, a brassy Black weekly that was published from 1941 to 1960. As Almena Davis Lomax, her political views evolved, and were contradictory too, which is OK because her story and contributions to American journalism history deserve to be known." Wayne Dawkins, Chair, Department of Multimedia Journalism, and Professor of Professional Practice, Morgan State University, School of Global Journalism and Communication; Author of Black Journalists: The NABJ Story and City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn
"Chandra Snell Clark's book, Twentieth Century Frontierswoman: A Rhetorical Biography of Almena Davis Lomax, Journalist is recommended reading for those interested in pioneers in journalism, Black history and gender studies. Pick up the book and you'll expand your knowledge about diversity and justice." Dorothy Bland, Professor, Mayborn School of Journalism, University of North Texas
"Chandra Snell Clark’s meticulously researched and gracefully written rhetorical biography about the courageous Almena Davis Lomax, makes a major contribution to journalism, Black and media history, society, and conversations about race. By providing critical information, analysis, and insights into the career and work of this largely unheralded publisher and editor of the Los Angeles Tribune, Clark elevates and highlights that Lomax, much like the brave and tenacious Black women pioneering journalists who were her predecessors, challenged the status quo and used her weekly newspaper to advocate for, protest, and champion causes." Jinx, Broussard, Bart R. Swanson Endowed Memorial Professor, Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State University; Author, African American Foreign Correspondents: A History and Giving a Voice to the Voiceless: Four Pioneering Black Women Journalists