Gordon B. Hancock

Gordon Blaine Hancock (June 23, 1884 – July 24, 1970) was a professor at Virginia Union University and a leading spokesman for African American equality in the generation before the civil rights movement.

Hancock was a nationally syndicated columnist for the Norfolk Journal and Guide whose columns were published in 114 black newspapers. He was one of the organizers of the 1942 Southern Conference on Race Relations and gave the opening keynote address. This conference led to the publication of "A Basis for Inter-Racial Cooperation and Development in the South: A Statement by Southern Negroes," known as the Durham Manifesto, which asserted that the group was "fundamentally opposed to the principle and practice of segregation," including staunch opposition to Jim Crow.

Hancock joined the faculty at Virginia Union University in 1921. He became the chairman of the department of Economics and Sociology as well as the Director of the Francis J. Torrance School of Race Relations at Virginia Union University. He linked education to activism, requiring students to perform community service, and encouraged black people to patronize black-owned businesses, calling this the "Double Duty Dollar."