Lewis Ossie Swingler (August 28, 1906 – September 25, 1962) was a pioneering African-American journalist, editor, and newspaper publisher from Crittenden County, Arkansas.
He was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma,[1] where he attended Booker T. Washington High School.
He served as its editor from its founding in 1931 until he left in 1951 to start the Tri-State Defender with John H.
[3] Swingler used his position in Memphis's black community to advocate for civil rights.
[8] Swingler died on September 25, 1962, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, of a heart attack.