Jessie Vann (née Matthews, February 23, 1885; died June 7, 1967) was an African-American teacher and newspaper publisher.
[4] Under Vann's direction, the Courier circulated information about the economic opportunities newly available to African-Americans during the war; later, the paper advocated for the work of the civil rights movement.
[4] Vann also served on a large number of civic boards, including the Pittsburgh chapters of the NAACP and the Urban League,[5] the Newspaper Publishers Association, and the Pennsylvania governor's Committee on Industrial Race Relations, and President Dwight Eisenhower’s International Development Advisory Board.
[5] As the wartime economic boom ebbed, the paper also declined financially and board members blamed Vann's management.
[4] She retired in 1963, though improving on her leadership proved difficult and the board sold the paper to the Chicago Defender in 1965.