George Wells Parker (September 18, 1882 – July 28, 1931) was an African-American political activist, historian, public intellectual, and writer who co-founded the Hamitic League of the World. Biography George Wells Parker's parents were born in Virginia and South Carolina, and his family moved to Omaha when Parker was young. While attending Omaha Central High School, he was recognized as a "leader among his classmates" who was a gifted speaker. In 1898, he competed in a national essay contest for high school and college students at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition and won top honors for an essay about history. After leaving Central, he attended Howard University for a few years. Returning to Omaha, he studied medicine at Creighton University In 1916 Parker started helping African Americans resettle in Omaha and, by 1917, he helped found the Hamitic League of the World to promote African pride and black economic progress. During this era, he was vice-president of the Omaha Philosophical Society, where he gave regular speeches about the history of African Americans. He was a regular contributor and editor for The Monitor, a Black newspaper in Omaha. After leaving that paper under duress in 1921, he edited a Black newspaper called The New Era, which was short-lived. In 1922, Parker moved to Chicago to pursue "Newspaper and magazine work" and died there almost a decade later, leaving a wife, two brothers and two sisters. He was buried by his family in an unmarked grave in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha. Mental health and the Murder of Celestine Jackson Wells Parker struggled with mental health throughout his life. In 1905 the Duluth Evening Herald wrote, "human efforts to do something in the world rarely surpass the labors of George Wells Parker, a colored youth of 22, whose frenzy for knowledge and achievement left him a mental wreck." On December 25, 1911, George Wells Parker was taken into custody by St. Paul, Minnesota police because they believed he was insane, but County Physician C.B. Telsberg ordered his release. The following day, Parker slashed Celestine Jackson, the proprietor of the boarding house where he was staying, to death with a razor. The St. Paul Appeal, an African American newspaper, called it "one of the most gruesome murders in the annals of the city" and noted "it is generally believed Parker was insane as there could not have been any motive for him to