Charlayne Hunter-Gault

Civil Rights Movement in America to Democratic Rights in the Heart of Africa

Presentation by:Bryan Burke

David Barnhorn

Upbringing• Born in 1942

– Predominantly black area called Rabbit Stew, S.C.

– Family moved to Covington, Ga. on Brown St.

• Street named after her great grandfather, Ike Brown

• Great Grandmother - Ellen Wilson– Read aloud three newspapers

to Charlayne (Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Daily World, Covington News)

• Mother, Althea Ruth Brown– Born in 1918 – Registered as white

• Grade school teacher, Miss Sara Francis– Educated from Morris Brown

College– Weekly Reader helped

develop a passion for reading

Changing Schools

Atlanta• Learned black history

routinely• Last year in grade school

marked the beginning of desegregation of public schools

Alaska• Opposed to the move• Attended all white high school• Armed Forces

– Father moved family to Army base for one year

Alaska, 1954

Back to Turner High

• Teacher, Elsie Foster Evans– Became role model– Received masters from

University of Michigan – Worked as journalist for

Atlanta Daily World

• The Greenlight– High school newspaper– Editor for three years

• Catholicism– Converted out of defiance to

mother

Student Government Rally

Wayne State, Michigan• Academics

– Enrolled for strong journalism program

– Mixed race college– Black Greek societies

• Reinforced identity

• Sit-in Movement– Blacks protested

segregated lunch counters in North Carolina

– “We saw each other as the heirs to a legacy of struggle, a struggle that was ennobling and a struggle that could control our destiny.”

Returning from Detroit to UGA

Enrolling at Univ. of Georgia

• Judge William Bootle– Ruled all administrative methods must be

exhausted before UGA would be forced to allow black students to enroll

• Application Process– Charlayne and Hamilton Holmes applied to

become the first black UGA students

Court Hearings

• Dec. 15 Hearing– Charlayne testified on

the witness stand– Wished to enroll at UGA

based on economic factors

– Wanted to work for Atlanta newspapers.

– Wanted to write about people in Georgia

• Dec. 13 Hearing– UGA claimed it had no

room for black students in its dorms

– Acclaimed civil rights attorney, Don Hollowell represented the students

– Cornered university administrators to testify

• Stated they Openly encouraged qualified black students for admission

Bootle’s Decision

• Jan 6, 1961– Judge Bootle orders UGA

to admit Charlayne and Hampton

• Social reaction– Hounded by reporters at

Wayne State

• Snooping– University investigators

interrogated friends of Charlayne

Registration Difficulties

• Outside Pressure– Boosters threaten to cut funds if black students

enrolled

• Charlayne was greeted by journalism faculty head, George Abney

• Delays– Judge Bootle halts registration process

• Judge Elbert Tuttle overruled Judge Bootle’s halting of the registration process

Civil Unrest

• Backlash in Athens– On her first day, the

campus was a circus with many students waving confederate flags and chanting in groups

• Some threw rocks at their car

• Groups protested outside of Charlayne’s dorm window

• Small riot– Days later, a rock and

Coke bottle were thrown through her window

• Angry mob formed after a basketball game

• Riot organizers instructed students to turn out their lights to identify her room

• Dean ordered the removal of Charlayne and Hampton from campus

Unrest Resolved

• Hollowell requested Bootle to immediately reverse the suspension– Bootle refused but reversed his decision the next

day– Charlayne and Hampton returned the following

week

Escorted off campus byState troopers during riot

Return to College

• Further civil resistance– Man reportedly entered

Charlayne’s dorm the night before she returned, brandished a pistol and demanded to know her whereabouts

• Later arrested and returned to mental institution

• Continuing threat– UGA warned that

students would be expelled if they took part in riotous, violent or dangerous acts

– FBI agents shadowed the two students for their protection

– Journalist posed as student in German class

Life at College

• Lonely– Would go days without

speaking– Unable to make friends

• School Cafeteria– Wanted to eat meals in

cafeteria• Prevented from doing so• Judge Bootle ruled she be

allowed in all UGA facilities

• Sports– Had to fulfill two

physical education credits

– Went out for swimming and bowling teams

• Knew she would create an uproar with selections

Summing Up College• Robert Kennedy

– Gave campaign speech at UGA

• Mentioned Charlayne and Hampton in his speech

– “their spirit will help defeat communism”

• Internships– Louisville Times

• First black hired in the newsroom.

• Outraged other journalists with her hire

• Graduated in 1963– Charlayne personally invited

Judge Bootle to graduation ceremony

• Civil Rights Experiences Video– Part II 1:00-3:15

Graduation Ceremony

Journalistic StyleNon-conventional Style Working in her Favor

• States she learns from each medium/experience– Experience with Black

Panthers on “Coming in Right”• Television Interviews

– Pointed questions, pursues answers from governmental figures that challenge them

• Relate to audience– Finds importance in relating

Africa to an American audience in context, i.e. country the size of “X,” similar to civil rights movement

• Objectivity:– Emphasis on Fair and balanced,

not objective– “The imperative that had

driven my reporting since those early days was of unapologetically looking at things through the prism of my own experience believing it served my journalism more honestly than any preconceptions to an objectivity I don’t subscribe to anyway.”

Journalistic Style (Cont’d) Non-conventional Style Working in her Favor

• Activism Derived from Sources– Reported on a girl in the middle

of the AIDS crisis, subsequently raised money for her

• Emotional Trials– Began crying uncontrollably

reporting on apartheid, interrupted interview

– “For some of the details touched the parts of us that were not protected by the wall of distance (some call it objectivity) we establish between ourselves and the people we write about.”

• Takes Issue with Certain Media Coverage– Governmental coverage

forces reporters to largely not criticize them or risk loss of access

• Often Relates her Past to Present– Often in her writing, such as

in Essence and in reference to South Africa, she relates her civil rights experience to current coverage

– Attempts to make story palpable to her audience

View on New Journalist’s Education

• Journalism Specific Courses– Believes all experience could be obtained over a

summer internship• Liberal Arts Background is Key

– Diversify yourself through studies in sociology, economics and so on

• Foreign Language– Learning a foreign language is extremely

important for versatility

Career Highlights• Accelerated Program at Columbia University• New Yorker Magazine, 1963-1967

– “Talk of the Town” reporter

• WRC-TV, Investigative Reporter, 1967-1968• News York Times, 1968-1977• MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour on PBS, 1977-1997• National Public Radio, 1997-1999• CNN, Johannesburg Bureau Chief, 1999-2005• Independent Projects, 2005-Present

New York Times• Urban Riots 1965-1968 in cities including Los

Angeles, Chicago, and Newark• Kerner Report, 1968, investigated riots

– Claimed unrest was, at least in part, reaction to poor and unrepresentative media coverage

– Movement to hire minorities to cover minorities

• Columbia University accelerated program• Metropolitan Reporter

– Urban reporting in predominately black neighborhoods, Harlem

MacNeil/Lehrer NewHour on PBS• Apartheid's People, 1985

– Assignment was to get the “human” side or back story of Apartheid, several part series

– ANC banned, historical look, current criticisms– Video

• History 1:35-2:40, ANC Activism 3:48-5:19

• George Foster Peabody• Field reporting• Substitute Anchor• Interviewed President Mandela, Thabo Mbeki,

Jimmy Carter

National Public Radio• George Foster Peabody for Overall coverage

of Africa• Chief Africa Correspondent• Johannesburg, South Africa• Covered African violence, elections, special

visits of dignities, and other such happenings• Often covered the small people in a story• Angola Civil War Sound Byte

– Injuries/Clinic 2:00-2:35, Disease Issues 3:05-3:47

Literary Career

• Book discusses themes within Africa culture• Objective look at Africa’s Key problems• Optimistic look at what Africans are doing to

change the continent• Emphasizes context of situations for readers

New News Out Of AfricaUncovering Africa’s Renaissance

Coined Definitions

Old News – past stereotyped problems; misrepresented by “parachute journalism”

- “Four D’s: death, disease, disaster and despair”

New News – Optimism; overlooked objective strides toward betterment

-Works to debunk past negative views to show light at the end of the tunnel

Fair News Comes from a Balanced Union

History/Transition into Africa

• Covered Africa for NewsHour– Covered Nelson Mandela’s release from prison

• Developed a high degree of access to Mandela and other African leaders and reformers

• Easy transition due to background– Stated in an interview with Mandela she felt

covering African Apartheid and disparities was a logical step based on her civil rights background

African Solutions for African ProblemsOld News

• AIDS– Worsened during Apartheid– Many orphans, many without

homes or oldest child raising siblings

– Debates over what is AIDS

• Employment/Education– Education not available to

many in villages, tuition charges too high

– Poor education excludes many from developing job market

• Financials– 60 percent of blacks in

poverty

• Infrastructure– Does not have the

infrastructure to be fully competitive in the global market

• Government Scandal– New government suffered its

first scandal from a high level individual, blemish harks back to past governments in media

African Solutions for African ProblemsNew News

• South African Apartheid– Transfer of power from white

minority to black majority without civil war

– Peaceful transfer mentality is spreading

• Truth Commission– Allow Apartheid offenders

amnesty for truth of wrongs

• Violence– Most victims are known to each

other, usually poor blacks

• AIDS– Court battle resulted in

antiretroviral drugs being available to many citizens

• Education– Many more black students at

higher education institutions

• Business Spending– Despite situation, many foreign

companies are still investing in Africa

– Allows for infrastructure

Emerging DemocraciesOld News

• Media– Poor, unrepresentative coverage

deterring investors

• African Solutions for African Problems– Slogan viewed by some as

weakening rather than inspirational– Creates cop-out to foreign aid

• African Organizations– Underfunded by 4 times– No peacekeeping troops

• Genocides– Rwanda recently and Darfur

• Zimbabwe– Sketchy election practices

• No free assembly - 5 or more

– Blacks are stealing farm land as land reform

– Literacy rate decline– Inflation up 623-411 percent– Mortality of those under 5 up

50 percent since 1990– 70 percent unemployment

• Poverty– 315 million live on less than $1

a day

Emerging DemocraciesNew News

• Congo– First peace deal in 40 years– New constitution, elections– Burundi follows suit

• Nigeria– Avoiding violence by using the

legal system beginning of democratic ideals

• “Take steps to realize an African Renaissance, becoming masters of their own fate…”– Key: Citizens debating own

strategies with government

• Dictatorships - “Big Men”– Beginning to step down voluntarily– Governments becoming

accountable to their people

• Zimbabwe– Call for rights, fair elections

• Democratic Moves– Set up Pan-African Parliament to

encourage fair elections and democratic institutions

• Great Britain– Created Commission on Africa

• Worked to double European aid money

African Renaissance

• Journalism– Free press restricted in many places– Journalists often jailed, or censored

with legislation– Zimbabwe banned some critical

news outlets– Press credentialing required for

outside news outlets• Charlayne arrested during elections

even with credentials– Suffer from extreme lack of

technology• One computer for a newspaper due

to confiscation by government

• Foreign Failures– Aid came too late during

Rwandan genocide, worsened situation as a result

• AIDS– 60 percent of those affected by

AIDS live in Sub-Saharan Africa• Orphans straining traditional

extended family units

• Media Coverage– Still suffer greatly from

“parachute journalism”– Stresses a need to balance old

news with new news

Old News

African RenaissanceNew News

• Journalism’s Part– Link between free press and

democracies forming– Blacks gaining more editorial power

in their news decisions– Beginning to be more critical of

government; becoming “watch dogs”

– Journalistic defiance “is in full flower in other parts of the continent as well.”

– Exit polls monitored to protect legitimate elections

– Share our ideals of patriotism, transparency, accountability, and fair and balanced news

• News Outlets– First new post apartheid TV news

station opened• Fights corruption

– Radio stations beginning to broadcast in more familiar native languages

– Daily News• Publish online despite being banned

• Conflict Resolution– Rwandan genocide over, local people

passing judgment

• AIDS– 17 year old girl performing “little

dramas” to educate about AIDS prevention

“Come in Right”A Journalistic Motto and Philosophy

• Black Panther– Refusing interview

because media misrepresents his cause, never “come in right”

• Fundamentals– Interprets it as fair and

balanced coverage• Key is appropriate context

• Respect to sources– Fair coverage makes a

source happy even if negatives are said

• Story Topics– Find anti-stereotype

stories - music, film, opera – when studying cultures

– Fights western, foreign preconceptions

• Need for fair coverage– Three U.S. news outlets

closed South African bureaus after Apartheid

– CNN only one to remain open

– Need to cover rebuilding processes

Awards

• George Foster Peabody, 1985– Apartheid's People

• Journalist of the Year Award, National Association of Black Journalists, 1986

• Sidney Hillman Award, 1990• George Foster Peabody, 1998

– Overall coverage of Africa for NPR

• Good Housekeeping Broadcast Personality of the Year Award

Awards (cont’d)

• American Women in Radio and Television Award

• Two Corporation for Public Broadcasting for Excellence in local programming

• National Urban Coalition Award for Distinguished Urban Reporting

• Two Emmy Awards