Quick Facts
Biography
James S. Bryant was a journalist and civil rights activist in Omaha, Nebraska. He worked with Ferdinand L. Barnett on his paper, The Progress in the 1890s.
In 1890, he was a member of a national building, loan, and protective union organized to assist Omaha blacks to buy or build a home. The local board of the group consisted of president George F. Franklin, vice president William Marshall, Secretary and Treasurer Alfred S. Barnett, Attorney James S. Bryant. The Board of Appraisers was Millard F. Singleton, Alphonso Wilson, and Harrison Buckner.
In 1894 he was an officer of the Afro American Fair association in Omaha with A. D. White and S. G. Ernest. In this capacity, he disputed with Cyrus D. Bell, who was editor of a rival paper, over the organization and activities of the group. He was also an officer of the Union League club led By Matthew Ricketts along with H. J. Granby and Alphonso Wilson. In 1895, he was a delegate to the state meeting of the National Afro-American League, along with Franklin, Singleton, and Ricketts.
He also worked in the city comptroller's office. He had a daughter in about 1879. His wife died on November 18, 1896