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Born in 1873, Emmett J. Scott was the founder of the Houston Freeman, the city’s first Black newspaper. In 1897, he invited Booker T. Washington to visit Houston. Scott so impressed the famed educator that Washington hired him as his private secretary. Scott joined Washington at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Working under Washington, he soon directed a far-flung network of Black organizations and newspapers, wielding national political influence. Scott was also a successful businessman who championed his mentor’s vision of Black advancement through entrepreneurship, investing in the earliest Black-owned record labels and insurance companies. More»