Born in Augusta, Georgia, Channing Tobias attended Paine College, Drew Theological Seminary, and the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at Paine College from 1905 until 1911. Tobias was secretary of the National Council of the Y.M.C.A. He was also a member of the N.A.A.C.P.'s Association for Study of Negro Life and History and of the special deputation of the National Y.M.C.A. Workers. In 1943 he was elected to the N.A.A.C.P.'s board of trustees, and he served as its chairman from 1953 to 1959. Tobias was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Selective Service, the Joint Army and Navy Committee on Welfare and Recreation, and the Civilian Committee of the U.S. Navy. In 1951 he was an alternate delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Sources:
Logan, Rayford W. Dictionary of American Negro Biography. 1 st ed. New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 1982. pgs. 594-595.

 Who’s Who in Colored America . Ed. Thomas Yenser. 5 th ed. Thomas Yenser: New York, 1940. pg. 517.