Talk:Aurora Reading Club of Pittsburgh

Removed from article draft; bio of Vann:

Jesse was born in Gettysburg, PA in 1885. By the time Jesse was 5 years old both of her parents had died. She was reared by her grandparents, Edward and Annie Matthews, both of whom were involved in the Underground Railroad. Jessie received training as a teacher and worked as such for a while. In 1919, she married prominent attorney Robert L. Vann. The couple became fixtures in Pittsburgh’s African American society and remained so for decades. Jesse was active in the Hill District YWCA as well as many other ladies’ social and civic organizations. The unexpected death of Robert, in 1940, ended their marriage of 25 years. Jesse took the helm of what was then the most influential African American Newspaper in the United States – The Pittsburgh Courier. She proved to be a keenly effective editor and business woman, keeping the quality of the paper while expanding its circulation until readership hit an all-time high of 400,000 nationwide.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sought Jesse’s help and involvement in 1944 and sent her as the United States delegate to the inauguration of President William Tubman in Liberia—an event at which she was the only female guest. In 1953, Jesse was made a member of the International Development Advisory Board. She was also asked to serve as an alternate delegate to the United Nations, but Jesse felt this would take too much of her time away from her duties with the newspaper.

She served on the Board of Directors for the NAACP and was an active director of the local branch of the Urban League. She was a member of the Pittsburgh branch of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. Jesse retired from her position at The Courier in 1965. She continued her board and membership responsibilities until her death in 1967.