James A. Scott

James A. Scott was an attorney, newspaper editor, publisher, and organizer of the Magic City Guards.

Scott's weekly newspaper, The Advance originated in Montgomery around 1876 before moving to Birmingham and publishing as the Birmingham Advance. The paper boasted a circulation of 500 in 1877, and was billed as the, "only outspoken Democratic paper in the United States published by colored men."

In 1883 Scott kept offices above Roden's Book Store, on 1st Avenue North between 19th and 20th Streets

Scott organized the Magic City Guards as the first African-American unit of the Alabama State Troops in 1883. The state organization soon dropped Scott from its rosters, citing absence from duty, and the Guards were formally disbanded in August 1887.

References

• Pettengill's Newspaper Directory and Advertisers' Hand-book (1877) S. M. Pettengill & Company. p. 254