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William Walker Dies; Publisher of Black Weekly

By JOSH BARBANEL

William Otis Walker, publisher for nearly 50 years of The Cleveland Call and Post, a black weekly newspaper, and an influential figure in Ohio politics, died yesterday after suffering a heart attack outside his office in Cleveland. He was 85 years old.

Mr. Walker, known as "W.O." to his friends and employees, took over the faltering Call and Post in 1932 at the invitation of local businessmen when its circulation had dropped to about 1,000.

In the next five decades he turned it into a prosperous and influential publication, with three editions and a circulation of 40,000. The company also prints 17 foreign-language newspapers, a large-circulation shopper in Cleveland and several specialized journals.

Mr. Walker was a Republican member of the Cleveland City Council from 1939 to 1946, and became the first black to serve on the cabinet of an Ohio Governor in 1963, when Gov. James A. Rhodes appointed him as the state industrial relations director. He also served as national chairman of Black Republicans for Reagan and Bush in last year's Presidential election.

Mr. Walker often worked behind the scenes on behalf of his causes. Over the years he had a weekly column in The Call and Post called "Down the Big Road" in which he spoke out for equality, but often criticized "handouts" and the welfare system, which he felt held back black people.

He continued to work a full week at his newspaper even into his 80's, and participated in several Government fact-finding missions to Taiwan and the Middle East.

William Otis Walker was born Sept. 19, 1896, in Selma, Ala., where his parents owned a grocery store, and attended public schools in Selma.

He was graduated from Wilburforce University in Ohio in 1916, and two years later was graduated from the Oberland Business College.

After working as secretary to the director of the Pittsburg [[Pittsburgh]] Urban League, he became a reporter for The Pittsburgh Courier in 1919, then a national black weekly newspaper.

In 1920 he moved on to The Norfolk (Va.) Journal and Guide as city editor of the newly founded Washington Tribune, which quickly became the dominent [[dominant]] paper in the area.

In 1929, he became advertising manager for the Fair Department Store in Washington, and was promoted to assistant manager after a few months. His associates said it was Washington's first department store with an integrated staff.

He was manager of a store in Baltimore in 1932, when he was invited to takeover The Call and Post.
Mr. Walker was a past president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, an organization of black publishers.

He is survived by his wife, Naomi, and a sister, Josie Waller, of Cleveland.

[[images - scenes from William Walker's life]]

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