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Jack Kelly (standing), with gubernatorial candidate George Earle (left), and senatorial candidate Joseph Guffy, Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 1934.
flipFlip to Robert Vann was one of the founders of The Pittsburgh Courier which was incorporated March 10, 1910. In 1913, he became the Editor of The Courier and remained such until the time of his death.
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Jack Kelly (standing), with gubernatorial candidate George Earle (left), and senatorial candidate Joseph Guffy

Credit: Courtesy of Urban Archives, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia

One of 10 children born to Irish immigrant parents, John Brendan Kelly, Sr. (1889–1960) was a triple Olympic Gold Medal winner in rowing before he made his fortune running a brickwork company in Philadelphia. During the Great Depression, African American, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Slavic, and other ethnic voters in Pennsylvania switched from the Republican to the Democratic party and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Among them was Jack Kelly, who became the leader or the Democratic party in Philadelphia.

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