Ada Crogman Franklin (1886 – December 24, 1983) was an American playwright, journalist, educator, and publisher of The Kansas City Call newspaper from 1955 to 1983.

Her sister Charlotte was a missionary, writer and editor; she married sociologist, clergyman and college president Richard R. Wright Jr.[1] Another sister, Edith, married Robert Nathaniel Brooks, a clergyman, educator, and college president.

[5] As dramatics specialist for the National Playground and Recreation Association and the Community Service League Inc.,[9][10][11] she wrote a popular musical pageant, Milestones of a Race, and traveled to the cities where it was presented by local theatre groups.

[14] Franklin also wrote for The Kansas City Call, the newspaper her husband founded and published.

[15][16] "She was the true matriarch of black journalism in America," commented publisher Carlton Goodlett, on the occasion of Franklin's death.