Baker, Joseph V. (Joseph Vaudrey), 1908-1993

Joseph Vaudrey Baker, an African American journalist and public relations specialist, was born August 21, 1908, the youngest of nine children to Reverend Samuel Butler and Mary Guillard Baker in Abbeville, South Carolina. He received his education from Abbeville State Teachers Training School and Temple University where he earned a degree in journalism. Baker married Hazel Powell Strange in 1938. He worked as a reporter for the Philadelphia Tribune and later became the first Black columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was director of the Division of Negro Research and Planning with the Pennsylvania State Department of Labor and Industry. He chaired and founded a public relations firm, Joseph V. Baker Associates, advising college presidents and various Fortune 500 companies. He produced several publications including: Brown American, Caravan, On the Track, and Wayfarer. These publications were underwritten by clients such as: Association of American Railroads, Procter and Gamble Corporation, and Chrysler Corporation. Baker was a member of the Philadelphia NAACP, Philadelphia Press Club, and National Public Relations Society. He was also active with the Y.M.C.A. and the Republican Party. He retired from Joseph V. Baker Associates in the early 1980's. He died at 84 years old in his Germantown, Pennsylvania home on May 7, 1993.