Nick Chiles Buildings

These three Topeka buildings were owned by Nick Chiles, an African American entrepreneur, political and civil rights activist, and editor who moved to Topeka in 1886. Chiles founded, edited, and published the Topeka Plaindealer, which had the largest circulation of any Black newspaper west of the Mississippi River, from 1899 until he died at age 61 in 1929. The Plaindealer, published from 1899 to 1958, was the nation's longest-running Black newspaper. This trio of downtown Topeka buildings stand as a reminder of Chiles' and the newspaper's legacy.

After moving to Topeka, Chiles made a name for himself in the grocery, restaurant, and hotel businesses before purchasing the Topeka Call from its previous owners, Joseph Bass and Will Pope, and renaming it the Topeka Plaindealer. In 1899, Chiles published the first issue of the Plaindealer which would become a powerful voice in the African American community in the region. Chils served as the paper's editor and publisher until he died in 1929.

Nick Chiles' editorial success and business ventures supported later philanthropic efforts, and Chiles soon gained a regional reputation as an active civil rights leader. Additionally, he helped found the Western Negro Publishers Association (WNPA), which helped develop editorial objectives for advocacy and education for Black publishers in several states: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma; the association ran until 1920. 

In the years before the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Chiles and the WNPA famously developed a connection with the Pope. During an annual meeting of WNPA, the group adopted a resolution to combat lynching, inequality, and segregation. In 1903, following the death of Pope Leo XIII and the appointment of his successor, Pope Pius X, the WNPA sent a message of congratulations to Pius X, combined with a request for him to denounce racial discrimination in the United States, including in Catholic-dominated labor unions noting that the Protestant church in America was deaf to cause. Because American Protestants routinely expressed suspicion of Catholicism in the early 20th century, reaching out to the Pope carried an exceedingly sharp edge. Pope Pius X responded by publicly stating that all races were equal in the eyes of Christ and commanded all Catholics to befriend African Americans while also noting that African Americans should, in return, seek forgiveness from God (serve in Christ). The Pope did not shy from mentioning Nick Chiles (a Black minority) in his public statements, an uncommon behavior for the era. 

Chiles frequently conversed with politicians in an attempt to curtail the violence against Black Americans, and he usually pointed out the conflict between Christian values and white supremacy. In 1913, Chiles conversed with South Carolina Senator Benjamin Tillman, an ardent white supremacist. In a series of four letters (two written by each man), Chiles urged Tillman to repent of his racism, noting that it was Tillman's duty as a Christian to denounce violence against African Americans and accept Black Americans as equal to White Americans. Despite Chiles' well-argued points, Tillman continued to assert his position of the superiority of the Whites. Chiles eventually published the four letters in his Topeka Plaindealer while insisting that Black Americans should pray for Tillman in hopes that Tillman would repent before he died. Chiles also sent a telegram to President Woodrow Wilson asking him to name a day of prayer to stop the lynchings and other actions committed against African Americans, to the Oklahoma governor after the 1921 Tulsa riots that left a Black community in shambles, and to the governor of Georgia, challenging each one to see the hypocrisy of proclaiming Christian values while also looking the other way at violence against African Americans. 

The buildings, which remain structurally sound in 2023 despite being vacant and facing an uncertain future, stand as a reminder of Chiles' newspaper, his activism, and the racism facing all African Americans in the early- and mid-twentieth century. 

"Chiles, Nick." Kansas Historical Society. May 2022. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/nick-chiles/12009.

Henderson, Riana. "Nick Chiles Memorial Bridge." Clio: Your Guide to History. December 9, 2018. https://theclio.com/entry/69301.

Hrenchir, Tim. "Their future unclear, downtown Topeka's aging Nick Chiles buildings are back on the market." Topeka Capital-Journal. December 13, 2022. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2022/12/13/owner-cody-foster-puts-topekas-nick-chiles-buildings-back-on-market/69725097007/.

--- --- --- "Topeka History Guy remembers Nick Chiles, editor and founder of the Topeka Plaindealer." Topeka Capital-Journal. May 3, 2017. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2017/05/03/topeka-history-guy-remembers-nick-chiles-editor-and-founder-topeka/15353745007/.

Martin, Danielle. "New plans for three historical buildings in downtown Topeka brings controversy in the community." WIBW-13. wibw.com. November 14, 2021. https://www.wibw.com/2021/11/15/new-plans-three-historical-buildings-downtown-topeka-bring-controversy-community/.

Putz, Paul. "The Anti-Racism Activist That History Forgot: In the Jim Crow era, an African-American newspaper owner made a biblical case against racism." Christianity Today. 2018. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2018/june/nick-chiles-early-anti-racism-activist-history-forgot.html. 

Yarborough, India. "Learn about Topeka's Black Heritage: Nick Chiles." Visit Topeka. October 13, 2021. https://www.visittopeka.com/blog/post/learn-about-topekas-black-heritage-nick-chiles/.