Content-Type: text/html
Running Head: African Americans: The Invisible Majority
African Americans in The Brownsville (TN) States-Graphic: The Invisible Majority
Author: Cynthia A. Bond Hopson, Ph.D.
Address after May 5, 2001
1150 Anderson Drive
Paris, TN 38242-9550
731-644-2207
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School Address: Department of Journalism
The University of Memphis
300 Meeman Journalism Building
Memphis, TN 38152-3290
901-678-3095
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African Americans: The Invisible Majority
African Americans in the Brownsville (TN) States-Graphic, 1960-1961: The Invisible Majority
Haywood County, Tennessee is the home of blues legends Hammie Nixon, Yank Rachelle, Sleepy John Estes, song stylist Tina Turner, and other prominent African Americans, yet accounts of their exploits or other information of importance to African Americans rarely appeared on page one of the Brownsville States-Graphic in 1960-1961. It is also the birthplace of The Golden Circle Life Insurance Company, one of only 12 African American-owned insurance companies remaining in the nation. Its founder, Charles Alan Rawls, was reputed to be the county's first African American millionaire.
Brownsville is its county seat and is located about 45 minutes east of Memphis. During this time, the county was 85% agricultural with few "public" jobs available to African Americans. When African Americans tried to register to vote in late 1959 and early 1960, the subsequent upheaval prompted news organizations around the country to pay attention. This newspaper, however, worked to minimize the impact of inevitable change and continued to cover non crises news of African Americans in the usual stereotypical ways.
Overview of Rationale and Method
This content analysis examined front pages of The Brownsville (TN) States-Graphic, a small rural weekly, for local coverage of African Americans in 1960-1961. Of a possible 104 news pages, 99 were available and legible. Entire front pages were chosen because they offered a unique cross-section of information about the community. Further, some readers may glean what is important by what is presented on page one. While news is often departmentalized today under society, opinion, or sports headings, during 1960 and 1961, this was not the case. Church news, editorials, society and farm news received equal billing with murders and robberies or other hard news from the local area. This newspaper printed news from African American correspondents, but not on page one. Entire issues of the paper offered no established patterns to news content, therefore, the rest of the paper was excluded.
Between news stories and briefs of one to two paragraphs (under a heading called News Briefs and written by the editor) 2,566 news items were counted and analyzed. This study concluded from quantitative and qualitative methods (including oral history interviews) that this newspaper was typical of southern newspapers during this time--when African Americans were covered, they appeared more in crime and catastrophe stories. Though they constituted more than half of the county's almost 24,000 residents, even during times of crises, Haywood County's African American communities remained virtually invisible. This work is part of a larger project that used Tichenor, Donohue and Olien's (1980) conflict theory to examine why some events in the community are covered and others may not. Conflict theory, which suggests that unwritten and societal rules may determine what news events are covered, proved insightful. This research question guided this portion of the study: (1) During 1
960, what kind and proportion of news items in Haywood County featuring African Americans appeared on the front page of The Brownsville States-Graphic? Voter registration items were analyzed separately.
"Colored" News in The Brownsville States-Graphic - The Supporting Literature
Much like many small town newspapers during this period, The Brownsville States-Graphic solicited news from African American community correspondents (at some periods almost every community was covered), but relegated this news near the end of the paper. These correspondents, who had their own editor, encouraged their friends and neighbors to subscribe to The Brownsville States-Graphic to see their names in print, thereby boosting circulation. While there is no empirical way to know how many of the paper's self-reported 10,000 readers were African American during 1960 and 1961, there were African American readers and subscribers though the majority of the audience was White. These community pages were not archived or available for this study.
In Haywood County, covering "news" in the White community and the African American community obviously took different paths though "news" is defined without regard to color. Shoemaker and Reese (1991) described news as information that exhibits one or more of the following attributes: (a) prominence, (b) human interest, (c) conflict/controversy, (d) the unusual,(e) timeliness and (f) proximity (p. 91). This definition, however, does not take into account the editorial role in defining what news is--news is what the editor says it is (Gans, 1979; Clark, 1948). Martin (1993) also contended that in addition to deciding what is news, the local editor must balance what is printed with his and the audience's existing prejudices, values, and opinions. He said rarely will an editor risk his career and his paper's future by taking unpopular stands (p. 198).
While this newspaper lacked the personnel to cover every aspect of the White community, it also lacked the cultural insights that would have allowed it to provide coverage of the African American community. Because there were no African Americans on the staff, it is unclear where the paper got the news it did print. Perhaps the news it obtained came in the form of press releases from the school board and sheriff's department. Stories in The Brownsville States-Graphic carried no bylines, so it is probably safe to say that the majority of the news printed was generated by news editor Paul Sims, his assistant Owen Burgess, and Burgess's wife, Doris, with assistance from White community correspondents, whose news often showed up on page one, and might have contained a tidbit of interest that sparked additional coverage. Nevertheless, that does not discount the impact and influence this news may have had on African American readers who looked for, and probably expected, local happ
enings in this weekly paper.
Because some readers may glean who and what is important from what they read, the few stories that may have appeared probably skewed Whites' perceptions about African Americans, their hopes and dreams. On the other hand, African Americans most likely gained some helpful insights about the White power structure in Haywood County from reading The Brownsville States-Graphic, though many relied on their informal networks (friends, family, co-workers), church gatherings, and the regional papers in Memphis and Jackson to provide the information that they may have needed to be well informed (Boyd interview, 1997; Hopson, 1997).
Further, The Brownsville States-Graphic, like other small southern weeklies, might have chosen noncontroversial news because it was bound by community standards that determined what and who would be covered (Tichenor, Donohue & Olien, 1980). Moreover, if African Americans' subsequent voter registration struggles were invisible in The Brownsville States-Graphic and the ensuing conflict was suppressed and minimized, Parenti's (1986) assertion that the press is neither objective nor consistently accurate in its portrayal of events (p. ix) takes on an added dimension.
The Commission on Freedom of the Press, also known as the Hutchins Commission (Leigh, 1947), listed five responsibilities of a free press. These included:
(a) providing a truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of the day's events in a context which gives them meaning; (b) providing a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism; (c) projecting a representative picture of the constituent groups in society; (d) presenting and clarifying the goals and values of the society; and (e) providing a full access to the day's intelligence. (pp. 20-21)
In addition, the Commission stated "that all the important viewpoints in society should be represented in its agencies of mass communication. If this is not done, the unchallenged assumptions of each group will continue to harden into prejudice and groups within society will remain insulated from each other" (pp. 24-25).
Parenti (1986) further suggested that:
When the press misrepresents events, it is usually not accidental or merely the result of the complexity of actual events or poorly prepared reporters but more the distortions are repeatable, systematic and even systemic--the result of deliberate manipulation of ideological and economic conditions under which they operate (p. ix).
In Haywood County, though African Americans outnumbered Whites almost two to one, the small town Southern culture most likely put African Americans at a distinct disadvantage. Their automobile purchases were scrutinized and their buying power was severely hampered by their meager income and sharecropping agreements (Boyd interview, 1997; Powell interview, 1999). Further, the number of African American businesses offered little diversity before 1960. Most were beauty and barber shops, funeral homes, small cafes, or an occasional doctor or dentist.
During 1960, African Americans opened their first full-service grocery supermarket. Insurance executive C. A. Rawls envisioned that the store would be self-supportive if 75 families would patronize it during the month. This number seemed realistic, considering the number of potential African American customers, yet the number was more like 10 (Hopson, 1997). Nevertheless, the store endured and offered an additional opportunity for African Americans to patronize their own stores.
As editors work to cover the communities they serve, many variables may affect what is presented as news. In addition to conflict, other variables such as race, class, and gender may be factors as well. In this instance, in Haywood County, the variable seemed to be race, because the community was majority African American and was almost neglected and ignored, except in stories about crime and catastrophe, or when there was some interaction between them and Whites. The Brownsville States-Graphic seemed to treat all African Americans the same, whether they were land or business owners or unemployed--they were Negro first and anything else second (Boyd interview, 1997; Carter, 1957). The clues in coverage ranged from the use of courtesy titles in the hospital lists for Whites but not for African Americans, and noting the race of the non-Whites.
Parenti (1986) suggested that one indication of how the press serves the privileged and the powerful is found in how it treats the underprivileged and the powerless. "This power and privilege shows up in how crimes are reported and even what is defined as crime. This is largely determined by the class and racial background of the victim and the victimizer" (p. 12). He further wrote:
Press coverage focuses public attention on crime in the streets with scarcely a mention of "crime in the suites," downplaying such corporate crimes as briberies, embezzlements, kickbacks, monopolistic restraints of trade, illegal uses of public funds by private interests, occupational safety violations, unsafe consumer goods, and environmental poisonings--which are or should be, crimes and which can cost the public dearly in money and lives. (p. 12)
While Parenti's findings about race and class are borne out in the existing literature, he also asserted that the media are inept, and often willfully omit context when covering certain issues. This characterization may also be evident in press coverage of African Americans in Haywood County. He said the press fails to link poverty, instability, and disorder to the injustices and irrationalities of the capitalist system.
As Dates and Barlow (1990) contended:
Racial images in the mass media are infused with color-coded positive and negative moralistic features. Once these symbols become familiar and accepted, they fuel misperceptions and perpetuate misunderstandings among the races... When this framework is applied to race relations in American society, a similar pattern of unequal cultural power emerges. Racial representations help to mold public opinion, then hold it in place and set the agenda for public discourse on the race issue in the media and in the society at large. (pp. 4-5)
Blanchard (1968) poignantly summed up the problem of Black invisibility on the pages of White newspapers. "The communications media have not communicated to the majority of their audience--which is White--...a feeling for the difficulties of being a Negro in the United States" (p. 64). The author contended that there is no understanding or appreciation of African American culture, thought or history. Without this insight, African Americans are further alienated and White prejudices are intensified.
Martindale (1986) supported this argument and said the way African Americans are portrayed in the media strongly influences the way the public perceives them. She suggested that the reporting may promote attitudes of "acceptance, or of hostility and fear; it can increase understanding or it can encourage repression; it can expose problems and present suggested solutions or it can ignore uncomfortable situations until they explode into violence" (p.1).
Johnson, Sears and McConahay (1971), in their study of coverage of Blacks in Los Angeles newspapers from 1892-1968, found that little press attention was given to Blacks during most of the period, but there was a marked increase during the race riots of the 1960s. This increase bears with it the potential for badly frightening a White population that is quite naive and inexperienced about Blacks. The authors also suggested that "Black invisibility in the White press may have facilitated White exploitation of Blacks by contributing to White ignorance of Blacks as people and of their problems" (pp. 718-19).
In Haywood County, because African Americans rarely seemed to appear on page one, perhaps it was easy to ignore them and their concerns. Besides the stories that appeared about voter registration, there were no accounts of confrontation or complaints covered during 1960-1961. This calm offered Whites a false sense of security and discounted the legitimacy of African American concerns about their civil rights and how they might be attained.
The news media's power structure and owners have changed in most cases during the past half century. The picture of the crusty old editor who is the conscience of the community has been replaced in many instances by corporations and media conglomerates whose decision making may or may not be made locally. As diversity and "multiculturalism" become the new buzzwords, community news media may find it much more challenging to provide historical context for "local" news or the people who made it.
During the period of study in this research, John Owens owned The Brownsville States-Graphic but lived in New York and left the daily operations to his nephew, John Owen Burgess. Paul Sims was listed as editor, but by this time his role had become a name-only position because of advanced age and frailty (Smith interview, 1999). With minimal input from Sims and Owens, Burgess's views most likely shaped what did or did not appear on page one of The Brownsville States-Graphic. These editorial decisions, while most likely well-intentioned, disenfranchised some African American readers by not explaining their struggles. A group of local businessmen, headed by then-Judge Lyle Reid who went on to become chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, purchased the paper from Owens' widow in 1984 (Smith interview, 1999) and owned it until late last year.
Race Matters
Lyle (1968) pointed out that one of the common themes running through the discussions of coverage of racial matters by media representatives and members of the Kerner Commission was the idea that it is the news media's responsibility to keep the public informed of injustices and other social maladies that may flare into violence. He said citizens cannot be expected to bring pressure to correct inequalities unless the media report festering conditions that may infect the society. He suggested that the role of watch dog would allow the press to sound alarms to warn of impending doom.
His assertions suggest that had White citizens in Haywood County been better informed, they would or could have been advocates for, instead of opponents to, the advancement of African Americans. There is no proof, however, that such knowledge would have led to action. Tichenor, Donohue and Olien (1980) suggested "differential patterns of distribution and acquisition of knowledge have major consequences for social control and social stratification. They tend to maintain existing elites of specialized groups within the social structure" (p.178).
Their study concluded that "African Americans in general know less about how the mass media operate, see fewer outside influences on the media, see themselves as having less influence on the media and are less cynical about the media than are Whites" (Tichenor et al., 1980, p. 124).
Southern newspapers seemed to portray Whites as multi-faceted individuals who married, got promotions on their jobs, were beautiful and talented. African Americans, on the other hand, were predictable--they caused commotion, committed crimes or were seen as entities that Whites interacted with in some situations and under certain conditions. This presumptuous attitude repeats a lack of understanding of the daily experience of African Americans, according to Schneider (1968):
Although charged with the responsibility of keeping a close check on government, of rooting out injustice and of protecting the weak, the American press...had not discovered the problems of the Black man in America, nor has it led in the struggle to solve the problems (p. ii).
The Kerner Commission Report (1968) further suggested that besides failing to convey to Whites a sense of the reality of being Black in America, the news media also had not portrayed the contributions of Blacks to American society. "They have not shown understanding or appreciation of--and thus have not communicated--a sense of Negro culture, thought, or history" (p. 383).
The contributions of African Americans are important to highlight, because as Martindale (1986) noted, "while Blacks represent only 12% of the nation's population, and have 31% of its poverty, they also have produced outstanding men and women far out of proportion to their numbers" (p. 7). Carter (1957) found that relatively few African Americans were cited individually as sources of news. He also discovered that newspapers frequently conveyed that African Americans were less intelligent than Whites and were seen as Negroes rather than as individuals for whom race was only one attribute (p. 8).
Bruce (1968) implied that, with an appreciation for and an understanding of this segment of the population, the entire society would be better informed and hear the warning signals of unrest. She contended that the news media have been remiss, because "...they have not provided our society with any warning signals. They have not told White people what ghetto conditions were and are. This resulted in violence, and when the violence came it was not understood"(p. 74).
Evans (1971) concluded that what becomes the news of the day often affected race relations:
Newspapers have effects on race relations at two levels-by the information they select and display and the opinions they present, they have effects on the creation of stereotypes or the stimulation to behaviors. Because of the volatility of the subject, they also have swift effect at government level on the creation of policy (p. 42).
Cox (1976) suggested that through news media coverage readers are told that some lives are worth caring about and some are not. According to Martindale (1986), in 1950, the percentage of Blacks in Atlanta was 37%, yet there were no topics about their problems or achievements covered in the Atlanta Constitution, and the estimated percentage of newshole devoted to Blacks in the Constitution's coverage was .0116% (pp. 185-187). A 1968 article in The Columbia Journalism Review claimed that portrayals and bias in coverage are widespread and systematic. In a survey of media executives, Klein (1968) made this assessment of coverage of African Americans by the White press: "There is still a lack of analysis and interpretation in the news about Negro affairs...and further, a majority of them (White media executives) believe their employees do not understand thoroughly the problems of race relations." Klein quoted Robert Lubar, assistant managing editor of Fortune magazine, with this statement:
The news media's coverage of Negroes betrays a lack of real understanding of what goes on in the minds of Negroes; it is as if the reporters were covering a foreign country from a U.S. point of view. There is a search for villains and heroes, and an incorrect emphasis on those Negro leaders who behave most theatrically. Violence and violent words are disproportionately highlighted, while real feelings are rarely portrayed. (pp. 42-43)
In The Brownsville States-Graphic this lack of race inclusivity on page one adds up to this basic premise--Whites and African Americans lived in two separate worlds, they did not mingle socially, they did not go to the same schools, churches, or temples, and the poverty that was so pervasive in the area often made mere existing a full-time job.
Few large landowners lived in the substandard conditions that many African Americans lived in; therefore, they had no frame of reference for what African Americans' lives were like. Those African Americans who were fortunate enough to own their own land were freer to make their own decisions; however, they were still dependent on banks, department and other kinds of stores for their maintenance. The weekly newspaper's job, as implemented by the editor in Haywood County, appeared not to highlight the hardships that tried souls, but rather to put the community's best face forward for the world and community to see.
The Brownsville States-Graphic Today
Much has changed in Haywood County since the 1960s, and The Brownsville States-Graphic is the first to reflect these significant advances. Obituaries and engagement notices are inclusive, and Whites and African Americans receive equal play. Courtesy titles are accorded all citizens, and great effort is made to avoid inflammatory coverage.
The paper prides itself on keeping neighbors informed through community correspondents. There are two remaining African American correspondents, Sylessie Ross, who writes news of her Browns Creek community, and Alvis M. Bond of the Douglass Community. Ross has written her column for more than 15 years, and Bond has written off and on for more than 40 years. Further, during Black History Month, special editions are published which highlight the lives of African Americans. Also, the area's autumn blues festival honoring local legends Nixon, Estes, and Rachelle gets a huge editorial boost from the paper.
The present editorial staff, headed by publisher Christy (C.T.) Smith, has made great strides in providing balanced and inclusive coverage. In each issue a page from the past is photocopied and included. Other than the name on the masthead, there appears to be very little left of The Brownsville States-Graphic from the early 1960s.
Results and Discussion: African Americans in The Brownsville States-Graphic 1960-1961?
To answer the research question about The Brownsville States-Graphic's page one coverage of African Americans, these questions were asked: (1) What was the total number of news items? (2) What was the total number of news items about African Americans? (3) What was the total number of voter registration items? (4) What was the total number of news briefs?
When African Americans were mentioned on page one of The Brownsville States-Graphic, they were most often identified as "Negro," and listed in the weekly hospital report under a "Colored" label without courtesy titles. Tables 1 and 2 show that African Americans made up 61.3% of Haywood County's 23,393 population, (U.S. Census Bureau, 1960) during 1960-1961; however, stories about them rarely appeared in The Brownsville States-Graphic.
The -10.8 percent difference in the 1950 and 1960 population (shown in Table 1) most likely reflects the northern migration of African Americans from rural southern farms, as was the trend during this period. Further, the "more you learn, the more you earn" premise seems to be borne out in Table 1 as well, because Whites were receiving almost two more years of schooling and more than twice the pay earned by African Americans.
As shown in Table 2, of 2,566 news stories and briefs in The Brownsville States-Graphic during 1960-1961, 26* (1.0%) of them included references to African Americans.
*24 (10 briefs, 10 news items, 4 with both)registration items were analyzed separately. _____________________________________________________________
Table 1 Haywood County Census Demographic Data 1960
_____________________________________________________________
Total county population 23,393
Total rural population 17,969
Nonwhite rural population 11,954
Percent of nonWhites 61.3
Percent of population increase from 1950-1960 -10.8
Number of males 11,476
Number of White males 4,417
Number of African American males 7,058
Number of females 11,917
Number of White women 4,638
Number of African American women 7,278
Median White Family Income in 1959 $3,900
Median school years completed 7.5
Nonwhites
Median Annual Family Income $1,101
Median Income for both sexes in 1959 $ 606
Median school years completed 5.8
_____________________________________________________________
Further, when African Americans were mentioned in The Brownsville States-Graphic, it was mostly in what Tatro (1972) and Martindale (1981) described as stereotypical coverage--crime, sports or entertainment. However, in The Brownsville States-Graphic, there were no sports or entertainment stories. Ten crime news items and four disaster or "catastrophe" news items constituted more than half (54%) of the stories covered. Extensive coverage was provided of the trial, appeals, and subsequent release of Willie Jones, an African American who killed the Haywood County Sheriff. The catastrophe news items ranged from an account of three African Americans who were killed in a tornado (March 10, 1961 edition) to the polio illness of African American toddler Clara Harwell (August 19, 1960 edition). Automobile accidents, when they also involved Whites or had some direct relationship to Whites, were covered.
__________________________________________________________
Table 2
The Brownsville States-Graphic's Front Page Contents of News Items About African Americans in 1960-1961
___________________________________________________________
Number of News Items 2,106
Number of News Briefs 460
Number of Items about African Americans 26
Crime: 10
Catastrophe: 4
Other: 9
More than one kind: 3
____________________________________________________________
Included in the "other" category were items like the induction of soldiers (January 27, 1961), and an announcement about an institute for farmers (July 14, 1961). In three instances there were at least two stories on page one about African Americans--crime and some other type, with the actions of African Americans clearly labeled.
On July 14, 1961, African Americans were mentioned four times, in a story, in the lead story, the editorial and in the news briefs. The editorial condemned African Americans for taking free food that was being sent to assist disenfranchised African Americans who were seeking the right to vote. The news brief joked about how to use the lard, rice, flour, meal, oats, and dried milk that were given by the government, the lead story reported about the "swarm" that showed up for "handouts of free surplus government food," and a second story reminded African American homemakers and farmers to come to an institute sponsored by the West Tennessee Negro Farmers and Homemakers. Another news brief item spoke of editor Burgess's friend Henry Wayne, a "Negro..." who died. Again, Wayne was killed by a train and because he was a friend of the editor, he warranted a brief.
This coverage was nothing unusual for The Brownsville States-Graphic or other newspapers like it during this period according to Martindale (1981) and Tatro (1972). In the stories about African Americans, the coverage could be called "for your information" rather than what Graham (1967) described as "purely local news and community gossip." There was no record or mention of African American deaths, church and community news, or gossip, except occasionally specific items aimed at the African American community were printed and labeled accordingly.
Some of this information may have enhanced the quality of life for local African Americans, however, the coverage also pointed to disparities in other quality of life issues such as employment, decent housing and education. For instance, when the local factory announced its acceptance of applications for employment, the newspaper indicated that there were two "Negro" locations and three hours when African Americans could apply. By comparison, there were nine locations and 10 hours for Whites. Ironically, African Americans were given less time and longer distances to drive when there were "White" locations right in their own neighborhood (May 20, 1960). Inservice and teacher training opportunities for Whites were announced as was the construction of new school facilities, while African American students and teachers continued to be relegated to inadequate school buildings, second-hand books and supplies (Hopson, 1997, Powell interview, 1999).
Further, this dearth of opportunity, coupled with insufficient information, may have relegated African Americans to the significantly lower wages of farm and domestic work, where they would be less likely to finish upper grades and attend college to improve their lot.
U.S. Census Bureau (1960) statistical data show glaring median income differences between the races: $3,900 for White families and $1,101 for African American families. Further, Whites completed 7.5 grades compared to 5.8 for African Americans (U.S. Census Data, 1960, see Table 1). In many instances, African American students were responsible for getting themselves to and from school, thereby eliminating significant numbers who were unable to arrange their own transportation or board with families in town near the county's only high school for African Americans (Hopson, 1997). The county provided buses for White students (Hopson, 1997).
Again, in the Brownsville States-Graphic there was no further editorial comment on the differences in the factory's application sites, no editorial that asked why interested African American seekers could not go to the nearest location instead of traveling cross county and losing valuable time, money, and opportunity. Further, when African Americans flexed their collective muscle and decided to seek the right to vote, there was no explanation offered as to why there had been no registered African American voters for almost 50 years, no explanation as to what this group hoped to gain from causing this upheaval and no information given about the differences in earning and learning power, all of which were relevant topics.
When it came to African Americans, there were no promotions, marriages, or neighborhood correspondents featured on page one though community news from some White correspondents did appear there regularly. When there were announcements about school openings, this date, most often, was for the White schools.
African Americans were virtually invisible during this period, however, it did not mean that African Americans did not exist in Haywood County, it simply meant their activities were not topics for news coverage on page one. Did this invisibility hurt the community? Most likely, because it did not show African Americans as multi-dimensional and their communities as places of worth. Their children needed to be showcased when they excelled in schools, in spite of inadequate facilities and supplies. Their clubs' meetings and sales could have used the publicity. Their citizens were surely more than "Negro" this or that and they deserved the respect of courtesy titles though none were given.
Did this lack of coverage thwart their efforts to be recognized for their full worth? Perhaps. When readers pick up their weekly newspaper, they expect to see who and what is important. If African Americans only showed up as criminals and victims of catastrophe, it would be very difficult to recognize them as beauty queens, sports stars, and leaders in business and industry. To go into a business and buy a car or anything else of their choosing and means, without scrutiny, should have been their choice. First-class citizens have full rights, everyone else waits in line and takes what is left.
Did the editor want to cover the African American community but could not because he was bound by personal, societal and business practices? Perhaps, however, it is impossible to know that more than 40 years later. Nevertheless, this we do know, when community newspapers cover the "entire" community, everyone benefits whether the topic is sports, celebrities, society or school safety. As editors struggle today to reflect the diversity of cultures and people who live within their coverage boundaries, this is an important lesson to learn.
References
Blanchard, E. D. (1968, Fall). The poor people and the White press. Columbia Journalism Review, 7, (3) 64.
Bruce, B. (1968). Comment by Beverlee Bruce. In J. Lyle (Ed.) The Black American and the press. Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie.
Carter, R. E. (1957, Winter). Segregation and the news. Journalism Quarterly, 34 3-18.
Clark, T. D. ((1948). The rural press and the new South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
Clark, T. D. (1948). The Southern country editor. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Co.
Cox, C. (1976, August). Meanwhile in Bedford Stuyvesant...MORE, 38.
Dates, J. L. & Barlow, W. (1990). Split image African Americans in the mass media. Washington, DC: Howard University Press.
Evans, H. (1971). A positive policy. In Race and the press. London: Runnymede Trust.
Gans, H. J. (1979. Deciding what's news. New York: Pantheon Books.
Graham, H. D. (1967). Crisis in print: Desegregation and the press in Tennessee. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
Hopson, C. B. (1997, February). The women of Haywood, An oral history look at the lives of four professional African American women in Haywood County, Tennessee. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of African American and Hispanic and Latino Studies, Houston, TX.
Johnson, P. B., Sears, D. O.,& McConahay, J. B. (1971, January). Black invisibility, the press and the Los Angeles riot. American Journal of Sociology 76,(4).
Klein, W. (1968, Fall). News media and race relations: a self portrait. Columbia Journalism Review, 7,(3), p.42-43.
Leigh, R. D. (Ed.) (1947). Commission on freedom of the press, A free and responsible press, A general report on mass communication: Newspapers, radio, motion pictures, magazines and books (The Hutchins Commission) Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lyle, J. (Ed.). (1968). The Black American and the press. Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie.
Martin, J. R. (1993). Looking the other way: A study of local press coverage of events surrounding the Herrin massacre of June 22, 1922. Doctoral dissertation, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Martindale, C. (1981). Coverage of Black Americans in four metropolitan newspapers between 1950 and 1980.
Master's thesis, Kent State University, OH.
Martindale, C. (1986). The White press and Black America. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press.
Parenti, M. (1986). Inventing reality: The politics of the mass media. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Report of the national advisory commission on civil disorders (The Kerner Commission). (1968). New York: New York Times Co.
Schneider, L. (1968). The newsman and the race story. Seattle: University of Washington School of Communications.
Shoemaker, P., & Reese, S. (1991). Mediating the message Theories of influences on mass media content. New York: Longman Press.
Tatro, H. L. (1972). Local news coverage of Blacks in five deep South newspapers 1950 to 1970. Master's thesis, Indiana University.
Tichenor, P. J., Donohue, G. A., & Olien, C. N. (1980) . Community conflict and the press. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publishers.
U. S. Census (1960). Tables 28, 82-91.
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Oral History and Telephone Interviews
Dr. Currie P. Boyd, Professor, Voter Registration Leader, Telephone Interview, May 24, 1977.
Rev. Freddie J. Powell, Voter Registration Leader, Telephone Interview, April 2, 1999.
Mrs. C. T. Smith, Editor of the Brownsville States-Graphic, Telephone Interview, April 9, 1999.