Amos Lynch
(1925­2015)

Everyone refers to Amos Lynch as the “godfather” of black journalism. But he was more than that.
He helped set the black political agenda in Columbus as well as covering stories of Jim Crow
practices that inspired progressives to action. For 33 years he edited the Call and Post and launched
the career of perhaps Ohio’s most famous black writer, Wil Haygood. I remember reading the front
page of the Call and Post in the 80s and 90s and contrasting it with the Dispatch and the difference
was literally black and white. All the great moral issues of the day were covered first and more
complete in the Call and Post. Whether it was freeing Nelson Mandela or police brutality – the
actual existing conditions for the poor and minorities and advocacy on their behalf was to be found
in the papers edited by Amos Lynch. The Free Press hopes that we can, in a small way, carry on
his legacy. Lynch died at age 90 on July 24, 2015. ~ Bob Fitrakis