'The Vanguard: A Register of Those in Front': An Introduction to the Newly Digitized African American Directory

The Vanguard: A Register of Those in Front was a classified directory and social register for New York’s African American community published by Samuel Lewis Jackson from 1933 to 1943. Born around 1884 in Lexington County, South Carolina, Jackson had settled in Harlem by 1915 and worked as a government clerk and stenographer before venturing out as directory editor. The opening declaration in The Vanguard’s inaugural issue read in part: “From this humble beginning, it is hoped to develop The Vanguard into a full and thoroughly reliable annual register of that element of our people, in the Metropolitan District, who march in the front ranks along all lines of endeavor. The Vanguard is not a record of “Who is Who,” but of “Those who do.”’ 

The Vanguard underwent various aesthetic and organizational changes throughout its run. Notably, the signature "V" first adorned the front cover of the November 1936 issue (Vol 5, no. 1), the same issue in which The Vanguard announced that it would newly function as a social register, "retaining in its second section a classified business directory." The Vanguard, which had previously been subtitled "A Classified Directory and Guide to the Best in Harlem," was thereafter entitled: The Vanguard: A Register of Those in Front. Despite the haughty tone, Samuel L. Jackson, as he is listed in the directories, maintained that The Vanguard was not a “snob list.” Registration was free for residents wishing to be added to the social register, provided they had “fixed domiciles of long standing, enjoy[ed] reputation for good moral character…, [and] achieved a measure of economic success or intellectual development.” Directories were sold at Harlem newsstands and select bookstores, and by yearly subscriptions ranging from 50 cents to $1.50. People could also consult The Vanguard for free at several branches of The New York Public Library.

Though primarily a classified directory and social register, The Vanguard featured editorial essays, listings of local events and attractions, biographical sketches, contemporary and historical facts and figures, and birth, marriage and death notices. The expansiveness of the project foreshadowed the eponymous Jackson’s International Negro Almanac, published in 1942. As expressed in the editor’s notes, Jackson hoped to continuously develop The Vanguard and expand its geographic reach. While the directory saw moderate growth through the years—with later issues including residential listings from the outer-boroughs and Philadelphia, and classified listings from cities across the Mid-Atlantic states—the physical volume was never more than a slim 100 pages. 

By 1940, Jackson acknowledged that although he believed The Vanguard was a worthy venture, it had not been profitable. Presumably, The Vanguard’s growth suffered from Depression-era and World War II economic conditions, and rising criticisms of the elitism underlying social register publications. In the editor’s note for the January 1943 issue, Jackson announced that The Vanguard would drop down from a triannual to an annual publication schedule. This would be The Vanguard’s last issue, as Jackson died prematurely in a train accident just a few months later on April 2, 1943. Reportedly, Jackson was running to catch a train in Mount Vernon, New York when he fell to his death, carrying his own books for which he had been collecting orders. Notice of Jackson’s death made the front page of The New York Amsterdam News, the Harlem-based African American newspaper. It was also reported by the New York Times and reprinted in several Black papers across the country.

The Vanguard came to an abrupt end and likely enjoyed only a modest circulation. However, it is a resource teeming with information for today’s local history and genealogy researchers, especially those seeking to understand the Black residents, professionals, businesses, and establishments of Harlem in the 1930s and 1940s. Researchers can cross-reference The Vanguard issues with other local history materials at NYPL and beyond, such as the Federal Writers Project’s WPA Guide to New York City (1939) and New York Panorama (1938), the Milstein Division's collection of Photographic Views of New York, the New York City Municipal Archives' 1940’s New York Tax Photos, and the U.S. Federal Census for 1930 and 1940. The Milstein Division holds the complete run of The Vanguard, while select issues are held with the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and other research libraries. We invite you to explore the completely digitized collection of The Vanguard on NYPL Digital Collections. 

State of New York. Certificate and Record of Marriage. Borough of Manhattan, Certificate no. 10175, April 29, 1929, accessed on the New York Municipal Archives’ Historical Vital Records database. 

Jackson worked for the United States War Department and U.S. Immigration Services’ Board of Special Inquiry at Ellis Island according to the following sources: 1915 and 1925 New York State Census; 1920 and 1930 United States Census; Official register of the United States, 1919 Directory, p. 675, accessed on HathiTrust Digital Library; Official register of the United States, 1921 Directory, p. 651, accessed on HathiTrust Digital Library; “Publisher Visits in Pittsburgh.” The Pittsburgh Courier, Sep. 27 1941, accessed on ProQuest Historical African American Newspapers.

The Vanguard: A register of those in front, Vol 5, no. 1, pg. 73-74. These requirements for residential registration are also included on the first page of the directory from Vol. 5, no. 2 onwards. 

Exceptions include Vol. 3 no. 3 through Vol. 4, no. 3, where resident registration is listed at 50 cents. 

In 1934, the development of a Black social register by two white publishers, Carroll Case and Walter Varney, was announced to much criticism in the Black press. Some charged that the white men were looking to exploit the Black community by recreating the snobbery and exclusivity of white social registers. For more on this, see: “The Feminist View Point: Down With the Social Register!,” and “A Negro Blue Book” New York Amsterdam News,  April 28, 1934; and “Harlem Laughs, Society Blue Book Planned,” The Baltimore Afro-American, April 28, 1934, accessed on ProQuest Historical African American Newspapers.

 “Almanac Editor Killed By Train.” The Chicago Defender, National Edition, April 10, 1943 ; “S. L. Jackson Dies of Train Injury.” New York Amsterdam News, Apr. 17 1943; “Train Jump Fatal to Harlem Editor, 58.” Baltimore Afro-American, Apr. 3 1943; "Train Kills Harlem Editor.” New York Times, Apr. 2 1943, accessed on ProQuest Historical African American Newspapers and New York Times (1851-2019) w/ Index.

U.S. Federal Census Records are available on Ancestry Library Edition at all NYPL locations and on the free genealogy database FamilySearch.