Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
The Lighthouse & Informer
⎯⎯⎯
John H. McCray
Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 29, 2010
1. The Lighthouse & Informer Marker
The Lighthouse & Informer. The Lighthouse & Informer, long the leading black newspaper in S.C., was a weekly published here from 1941 to 1954 by journalist and civil rights advocate John Henry McCray (1910-1997). McCray, who founded and paper so our people can have a voice and some means of getting along together, published articles covering every aspect of black life and columns and editorials advocating equal rights.
John H. McCray. In 1944, after the S.C. General Assembly repealed laws regulating primaries and the S.C. Democratic Party excluded blacks from voting in them, John H. McCray helped found the Progressive Democratic Party, the first black Democratic party in the South. He was an editor for other leading black newspapers in the 1950s and 1960s, then spent many years as an administrator at his alma mater, Talladega College. McCray died in Alabama in 1987.
Erected 2008 by South Carolina Department of Archives and History, sponsored by The Historic Columbia Foundation, the City of Columbia, and the S.C. Department of Transportation. (Marker Number 40-144.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights
this page online
Location. 34° 0.614′ N, 81° 1.278′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. It is on Harden Street, on the right when traveling south. Located between Taylor and Hampton Streets. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1507 Harden Street, Columbia SC 29204, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Midlands. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Carver Theatre (within shouting distance of this marker); Allen University (within shouting distance of this marker); Waverly (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Black Churches Are Still Burning (about 400 feet away); Matilda A. Evans House (about 400 feet away); Columbia Hospital "Negro Unit" / Columbia Hospital "Negro Nurses" (about 700 feet away); Good Samaritan-Waverly Hospital (approx. 0.2 miles away); First Calvary Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.
Also see . . .
Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 29, 2010
2. John H. McCray
Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 29, 2010
3. The Lighthouse & Informer / John H. McCray Marker, looking south along Harden Street
Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 29, 2010
4. The Lighthouse & Informer / John H. McCray Marker, as seen looking north along Harden Street
Credits. This page was last revised on January 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,946 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 17, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.
