93.1561? mlllllllllllllllln l'llll This is to certify that the has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for o u‘ f" 3". ' "- T I ‘ - fl ‘ ' - ._ I — . degree in @Kfiéé/QV Major professor 3-! »’»- 'nfi -L :‘ .' V . / ”l Date ’ ’ ’ ' 0-7539 OVERDUE FINES ARE 25¢ PER DAY _ PER ITEM '\ Return to book drop to rucve a this checkout from your record. at; it © 1978 PAMELA JETAUN SHERROD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ETHEL L. PAYNE: COVERAGE OF CIVIL RIGHTS AS A WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (1954-1958) BY Pamela Jetaun Sherrod A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS School of Journalism 1978 Accepted by the faculty of the School of Jour- nalism, College of Communication Arts, Michigan State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. Director of Thesis ABSTRACT ETHEL L. PAYNE: COVERAGE OF CIVIL RIGHTS AS A WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (1954-1958) BY Pamela Jetaun Sherrod This study examines Ethel L. Payne's years as a Washington correspondent and her coverage of the civil rights movement. Between 1954 and 1958 Payne was one of three black national correspondents and the only one representing a black daily newspaper. Her coverage of civil rights was at its height during this period. She covered the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of TOpeka, Montgomery bus boycott, integration at the University of Alabama, and school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her articles also assessed the presidential administration's ability to handle racial conflicts in the country. The human-element was a prevalent characteristic throughout her coverage of the movement and people who made the movement work. This study is based on interviews with Payne con- ducted by the researcher and Payne's articles in the national edition of the Chicago Defender. To My Parents Albert and Lilder Sherrod Every step I take is because of you. With all my love, Pamela ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer would like to extend her sincere appre- ciation to Ethel L. Payne, the subject of the study, who graciously cooperated in interviews and shared some of her fondest memories. The writer also expresses thanks to Dr. Robert V. Hudson, Associate Professor of Michigan State University, for advising her throughout the course of the thesis. A special thanks is lovingly given to the author's mother, Lilder Sherrod, who assisted the researcher in locating articles from the Chicago Defender. iii Chapter I. II. III. IV. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . Premise . . . . . . . . . . . Justification . . . . . Significant Civil Rights Events . . . Methodology. . . . . . . . Review of the Literature . . . . ETHEL L. PAYNE . . . . . . . . A New Challenge in Japan . . . . . Reporting for the Defender. . . . . Defender Correspondents. . . . . . Ethel Payne in Washington . . . . . ETHEL PAYNE AT WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCES. . . . . . . Recognition at Press Conferences. . Civil Rights Top Question for Payne. . Questions Raised by Payne . . . Discrimination in Housing and Interstate Travel. . . . . . . . . Payne' 3 Questions Annoy Eisenhower . Payne' 5 Credentials Threatened . CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES COVERED BY ETHEL L. PAYNE O O O O O O O O O O 0 Supreme Court 1954 Decision . . . . Covering the Montgomery Bus Boycott. . Autherine Lucy at the University of Alabama . . . . . . . . . . Students' Reactions to Lucy at University of Alabama . . . . . Facets of the Civil Rights Movement. . The 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage. . . . . Covering Desegregation in Little Rock . A Common Characteristic in Payne's Articles . .. . . . Payne' 5 Assessment of the Movement . . iv 27 3O 32 34 36 38 41 43 43 46 49 50 51 52 53 56 59 Chapter v. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . Civil Rights Under Three Presidents Payne Knew. . . What Ethel L. Payne Sees as Her Most Significant Contribution to Print Journalism. . . . . A Look at Ethel Payne Today. . . . What Payne Would Focus on in 1978 as a Washington Correspondent . . . . APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Premise This study focuses on Ethel Lois Payne and her coverage of civil rights as a Washington correspondent for the Chicago Defender from 1954 to 1958. The investi- gation begins with the Supreme Court's decision in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education (347 U.S. 483) and ends after the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. These landmarks in the black's continuing campaign for racial equality bracket the most important work of Payne. Payne's career in journalism began during the Korean War when she was director of the Army's Special Services recreational facility in Japan. During this period, she kept a journal of her impressions of Japan, particularly on the combat and social atrocities of the war. The journal included stories on the mistreatment of black soldiers and the number of courts-martial they faced.1 1Grayson Mitchell, "Ethel Payne," Essence, March 1974, p. 66. Until Alex Wilson, a reporter with the Chicago Defender, visited Tokyo in 1952, Payne had not shared her notes about the Korean War and racial discrimination practices. When the two met and she mentioned her journal, Wilson took several pages from it.2 The Defender published reports based on the journal. Before long, the newspaper's more than 100,000 readers, mostly black, were seeing a new perspective of the war under headlines such as: "Army Service Club Director Says Black 613 Being Played for Suckers."3 These reports on racial inequality in the armed forces were Payne's first attempt to disseminate her views about needed civil rights legislation. In 1952, the Defender hired her to write feature stories about news of general interest. A year later, she was sent to Washington on assignment. It was to be a temporary change, but it lasted twenty years, beginning with the day President Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office.4 Payne's journalistic role changed during the 19503. These years also mark the changing role of double standard equality for whites in the country. The first and most significant move in this direction was the Supreme Court's decision in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education. 21bid. 31bid. 41bid., p. 95. Justification In retrospect, Payne said the Supreme Court's decision in 1954 was the most important step in the civil rights movement.5 When the decision was handed down, the courtroom was filled with spectators and reporters, including Payne, waiting to hear Chief Justice Earl Warren read the court's opinion in Brown v. Board of Education.6 From the bench, Warren read a decision which overturned a century of legal segregation. One sentence from the decision reflected the coming change in education: "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."7 Payne and others present witnessed a major turning point in the course of black history in the United States.8 The decision not only signified a change towards school desegregation, but also foreshadowed a new era of freedom for blacks. The civil rights revolution had truly begun.9 5Interview with Ethel L. Payne in Chicago, Sep- tember l, 1978. 6Ernest Kaiser and Harry A. Ploski, eds., The Negro Almanac (New York: The Bellwether Publishing Co., 1971), p. 28. 7Supreme Court of the United States, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). 8John Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom (New York: Vintage Books, 1967), p. 555. 9Alex F. Westin, Freedom Now: The Civil Rights Struggle in America (New York: Basic Books, 1964), p. 45. Throughout this revolution, Payne's role as a journalist was a concentrated effort to report the facts. In her articles, she explored the lives of those peOple affected by the movement. Her reports were an exposé of black and white interaction in a country which had denied equality to blacks. Civil rights events which occurred after the Supreme Court's decision in 1954 showed the changing role of blacks. Payne was a supporter of the revolution from its inception. This thesis is an examination of her role as a national correspondent covering civil rights. She shared her view on the changing role of blacks with more than 100,000 readers. Indeed, she had a great deal to explore in the civil rights movement between 1954 and 1958. Hoping for legal change, blacks traveled to Wash- ington to march, pray and emphatically speak out for their inherent rights. Nowhere was the legal debate on the status of blacks more dramatic than in the nation's capital, where as early as 1947 Jim Crow laws were gradually banned.lo Payne was one of several black journalistic leaders who contended that the doors of equality were not open wide 10Franklin, p. 612. enough to "admit sufficient light of Opportunity for a clear enOugh vision of the pathways of advancement."11 They felt that this new era imposed upon them a greater challenge to work harder to bring about changes for those who depended upon them to set the pace and lead the way. They felt that they must make higher resolves and stronger pledges to see that the dream of progress became a reality, to furnish strength where there had been weakness, to make right what had long been wrong, to turn tears into smiles and despair into hope. Payne was one of three black Washington correspon- dents assigned to cover the capital between 1954 and 1958. She represented the largest (104,000) black daily news- paper, with editions circulated in northern and southern states. The Defender had been founded in 1905 by Robert 8. Abbott. Abbott's nephew, John H. Sengstacke, became publisher in 1940. The newspaper is black-owned and pub- lished by Sengstacke Newspapers, a group which includes weeklies in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee.13 As a Washington correspondent, Payne provided a black perspective on national and local issues. Bringing the black cadre of Washington reporters to three, she llAlice A. Dunnigan, A Black Woman's Experience From Schoolhouse to White House (Philadelphia: Dorrance and Co., 1974), p. 307. 12Ibid., p. 308. l3Roland E. Wolseley, The Black Press, U.S.A. (Ames, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 1971), pp. 11-12. joined Louis Lautier and Alice A. Dunnigan. Lautier was a representative of National Newspapers Publishers Associ- ation, and Dunnigan represented the Associated Negro Press.14 For generations, the black press served an increas- ingly important function in fighting the institution of slavery and speaking for the black community.15 This function grew to have an even greater impact during the 19503. During these years, civil rights was the most important issue for blacks. In the 19503, Payne made her mark in journalism history by showing the effects of civil rights injustices. Her articles examined civil rights events and problems surrounding racial discrimination. Her coverage of sig- nificant civil rights events during this critical decade is the focus of this thesis. Significant Civil Rights Events The greatest surge in the civil rights movement took place following the Supreme Court's decision in 1954. Historians John HOpe Franklin, William Loren Katz, and editors of The Negro Almanac agree on critical civil rights events. These events are (1) Supreme Court 14Mitchell, p. 66. 15Henry G. LaBrie, Perspectives of the Black Press: 1974 (Kennebunkport, Maine: Mercer House Press, 1974), p. 92. decision of 1954; (2) The Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955; (3) Autherine Lucy enters University of Alabama in 1956; (4) Civil Rights Act of 1957: and (5) The Prayer Pilgrim- mage in 1957. After the Supreme Court's decision in 1954, the Montgomery Bus Boycott marked an important move in civil rights. The boycott initiated a 382-day long protest. It was the first time in the South that direct action was effectively used.16 The boycott successfully drama- tized the effects of racial discrimination against the black community. In 1956, news reports about Autherine Lucy, a 26-year-old black library science student, made front- page headlines across the country. Lucy tried to enter the University of Alabama.17 What was unusual or dif- ferent about a story on admissions procedures? A black woman had the temerity to seek admission to an all-white university. During that same year, southern congressmen searched their memories to recall the Plessy v. Ferguson (163 U.S. 537) decision of 1896. This decision reiterated 16Franklin, p. 615: William Loren Katz, Eyewitness: The Negro in American History (New York: Pittman Publish- ing Corporation, 1967). P. 479. 17Kaiser and Ploski, p. 31. that the 14th Amendment did not mention education or apply to the states. This was a political ploy by southern congressmen who felt the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction in their states. The southern congressmen specifically challenged the right of the Supreme Court to encroach upon segregated educational systems prevalent in their states.18 A victory for the civil rights movement occurred in 1957. The first large-scale, post-World War II demon- stration took place in Washington, D.C. Civil rights leaders called it the prayer pilgrimage. A Civil Rights Act was also signed that year. The Civil Rights Act in 1957 was the first such federal legislation since 1875. This was not accomplished until after the "Prayer Pil- grimage." President Dwight D. Eisenhower hailed it as the most important of all legislative proposals because it dealt with voting rights.19 Desegregation of public schools in Little Rock was attempted in 1957. The governor of Arkansas Opposed integration in the schools and made this protest a public one. "When Governor Orval Faubus summoned National Guardsmen to turn away Negro pupils, he maintained that they were not acting as segregationists, but as soldiers." 19 laIbid., p. 34. Ibid. Faubus defied a direct federal court order, thus exposing extremist tactics and arousing mob violence against blacks.20 This study comes to a close in 1958, when Payne took a leave of absence from the Defender. Civil rights events discussed in this chapter were the basis for selecting articles by Payne. Methodology This is a historical study based on primary resources. Background on the civil rights era and preva- lent issues in the movement were included to put Payne's reporting in perspective for the researcher. In researching Ethel L. Payne: Coverage of Civil Rights as a Washington Correspondent from 1954 to 1958, oral history techniques aided in interpreting and docu— menting information from interviews with Payne. Oral history is the tape recording of events about which the narrator can speak from first-hand knowledge.21 Through pre—planned interviews, the researcher recorded the sub- ject's ideas in question-answer form. Before the inter- view the researcher was well acquainted with background material on the civil rights era and Washington reporting. 20Ibid., p. 36. leilla K. Baum, Oral History (Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1971), p. 7. 10 News articles by Payne had also been selected and reviewed before the interviews. Two interviews were scheduled with Payne, August 12 and September 1, 1978, in Chicago. Each inter- view ran approximately sixty minutes. The researcher queried Payne on her family, her education, and her early career goals. She was also asked about becoming a national correspondent, preparing questions for White House press conferences, and reporting civil rights problems that arose. Interviews also included questions on civil rights leaders. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted when the researcher needed clarification of information gathered in interviews. The interviews were used in conjunction with back- ground information on the civil rights movement and Wash- ington reporting. Historical accounts of civil rights and opinions of other Washington correspondents aided the researcher in validating interviews with Payne.22 These accounts also provided questions on the civil rights era which were considered during the interviews. In-person interviews with Payne were recorded on sixty-minute cas- sette tapes. The researcher transcribed information from tapes onto index cards. The transcribed versions retained the subject's speech patterns. In the interest of a 22Robert J. Shafer, A Guide to Historical Method (Chicago, I11.: The Dorsey Press, 1974), pp. 36-37. 11 complete narrative, the researcher transcribed the questions with the answers in order not to create a false impression of why the subject answered in a certain manner.23 Information from the interviews was then divided into four categories: 1. Payne's life before pursuing a career in journalism 2. Payne's first ten years in Washington 3. Civil rights events she covered 4. Payne's preparation for press conferences This study also required a search of the Defender newspapers on microfilm. Microfilm of the Defender files between 1954 and 1958 were borrowed from the University of Chicago through Michigan State University's interlibrary loan. They included Payne's articles with her by-line, her anonymous Washington dateline reports, and her feature stories on civil rights leaders and workers. Payne's articles for this study were selected on the basis of those significant civil rights events cited by historians Franklin and Katz and editors of The Negro Almanac. Questions by Robert J. Shafer in A Guide to Historical Method were adapted for use in examining 23Baum, p. 55. 12 Payne's articles. These questions also assisted the 24 researcher in validating interviews with Payne. The questions included: 1. How well did Payne observe the event reported? Were her senses equal to the observation? Did she have the proper social ability to observe? Did she understand the people and the language? How did she report? In editorials? In articles? When did she report in relation to the events; for example, before or after civil rights legis- lation or grievances? Did she give incidental information? Did her statements or accounts conflict with what others said about the period or events? These questions were particularly useful to the researcher in interpreting her writings during the stated period. Articles by Payne appeared at least once a week. Washington dateline stories without her by-line, but written by her, were submitted daily to the Defender. The following section is a review of primary and secondary sources related to this study. 24Shafer, p. 157. 13 Review of the Literature Little has been written on Payne and only one article was found about her coverage of civil rights.25 The study of Payne's coverage of civil rights between 1954 and 1958 includes primary and secondary sources. They include sources on Payne, background on the civil rights movement and coverage of civil rights by other correspondents. Primary sources consist of Payne's articles and of scheduled interviews by the researcher. Her articles on civil rights contain reports on legislation preventing racial discrimination in interstate travel and promoting equal Opportunities for minority groups. Other articles by Payne include information about civil rights leaders and how presidents handled racial problems.26 Payne describes her role as a national correspon- dent in a chapter in Perspectives of the Black Press: 1974. She tells about each presidential administration and gives an account of how civil rights issues were handled. During her years as a Washington correspondent, she covered presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and 25Mitchell, p. 66. 26Chicago Defender, 1954-1958. 14 Lyndon B. Johnson. This chapter also describes problems she encountered in the Eisenhower administration.27 Secondary sources on Payne used in the study were an article in Essence and an autobiography by a colleague. Payne's beginning years as a reporter and Wash- ington correspondent for the Defender are described in the article by Grayson Mitchell, who combined interviews with Payne and his perceptions of her as a journalist. He stated, for example, that "the world, as seen through her eyes, is a battleground where the powerless are pitted against the powerful and it is her self-appointed "28 The article also cites mission to even the odds. civil rights events Payne covered. An extensive and detailed account of Payne's years as a Washington correspondent is found in A Black Woman's 29 This is an Experience from Schoolhouse to White House. autobiography by Alice A. Dunnigan, who covered Washington during the same years as Payne. Both women experienced similar difficulties in getting answers to their questions on civil rights during Eisenhower's press conferences. 27Ethel Payne, "Loneliness in the Capital," Per— spectives of the Black Press: 1974 (Kennenbunkport, Maine: Mercer House Press, 1974), pp. 153-61. 28Mitche11, p. 66. 29Dunnigan, pp. 342-46. 15 The autobiography contains information on civil rights in the 19503 and early 19603. Other secondary sources include works by Washington correspondents. These sources serve as references to reconstruct the atmosphere of a correspondent's job. My Eight Presidents was written by Sarah McClendon, also a Washington correspondent in the 19503 and early 19603. McClendon describes press conferences with Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.30 She focuses on how the presidents reacted to the press. Works by other correspondents were also used to reconstruct the atmosphere of Washington reporting. These included The Press in Washington, News from the Capital and "Washington I: The Correspondents after 25 Years," Columbia Journalism Review.31 The Press in Washington is a historical account of reporters in Washington who worked at daily newspapers and wire services. This book goes into detail about issues and sources of information available to the Wash- ington reporter. Although the book does not describe the 30Sarah McClendon, My Eight Presidents (New York: Wyden Press, 1978), pp. 32-96. 31Ray Heldon Hiebert, The Press in Washington (New York: Dodd, Mead Co., 1960); F. B. Marbut, News from the Capital (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1971); William L. Rivers, "Washington I: The Correspondents after 25 Years," Columbia Journalism Review, Spring 1962, pp. 4—10. 16 role of the black reporter or issues mainly of importance to black readers, it serves as a reference to the period and other issues. News from the Capital was presented much like The Press in Washington. This work lays a foundation for Washington reporting. It also accents issues supported by individual presidents and the legislation during the 19503 and early 19603. In both books, the authors discuss news events, press influence on legislation and rapport with presi- dential administrations. "Washington I: The Correspondents after 25 Years," on the other hand, is a report on an attitude survey of Washington correspondents who were active in the 19503.32 The survey included what correspondents considered important issues, how they obtained information on these issues, what their attitudes were on covering different beats and how they viewed their roles as journalists. Payne was not listed among the respondents, but those in the poll were correspondents in Washington during the 19503 and early 19603. Their opinions on the era and what they viewed as relevant issues contributed to this study by providing different views of how events were covered and of the atmosphere of reporting in Wash- ington. 321bid. 17 In addition to these sources on Washington reporting, books that reconstructed the civil rights era were used. The Negro Almanac lists civil rights events and legislation which began in the latter 19th century. It provides a historical foundation not only on civil rights, but also on the events and peOple which led to the civil rights movement. The almanac is a manual of civil rights 33 activities in the United States. From Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin traces the pitfalls and advancement of American blacks from the first days of slavery to the mid-20th century.34 In the latter chapters, he cites eight events which were significant in pushing the civil rights movement forward or causing dissension among blacks. Civil Rights during the Kennedy Administration describes events and legislation which took place between 1960 and 1963. The book also explains the many problems civil rights legislation faced in Congress and the rapport the president achieved with black leaders in civil rights.35 33Kaiser and Ploski. 34Franklin, pp. 608-52. 35James C. Harvey, Civil Rights during the Kennedy Administration (Hattiesburg, Miss.: University and Col- lege Press of Mississippi, 1971). 18 Freedom Now: The Civil Rights Struggle in America is a documentation of the movement and its leaders. The book cites civil rights occurrences during the 19503 and early 19603.36 Sources on how civil rights events were covered are also cited in this study. In Portrait of a Decade: The Second American Revolution, the editor, Anthony Lewis, compiled civil rights news dispatched by New York Times correspondents who covered the events and their leaders. The author also interprets several civil rights stories that were covered in ten states. Reports by Claude Sitton, the New York Times southern regional correspondent, examine the way southern newspapers played down civil rights news.37 Primary and secondary sources discussed in this review of literature show that Payne was not only in the position to report, but also to shape attitudes on the civil rights movement. In subsequent chapters, the researcher introduces Payne and examines her role as a national correspondent during the civil rights movement. 36Alex F. Westin, Freedom Now: The Civil Rights Struggle in America (New York: Basic Books, 1964). 37Anthony Lewis, ed., Portrait of a Decade: The Second American Revolution (New York: Random House, 1965). CHAPTER II ETHEL L. PAYNE Ethel Lois Payne was born August 12, 1911. She was the fifth of six children all born and raised in the southside Englewood community of Chicago. Payne described the community as a "small black island in a sea of white. There were a few white families scattered throughout, but they gradually left."1 Payne's parents came to Chicago at the turn of the century. Her mother was born in Evansville, Indiana, and her father was raised in Atocka, Tennessee. When she was fourteen, her father died, leaving the family with little financial resources. Looking back on these early years, Payne said, "The paramount thought was to keep the family together at whatever sacrifice."2 Even when money was scarce, Payne said, it was her mother's strength which guided them along their individual career paths. Before 1This and subsequent paragraphs--except where other sources are cited--are from an interview with Ethel L. Payne in Chicago, Illinois, August 12, 1978. 2Ethel L. Payne, "Loneliness in the Capital," Perspectives of the Black Press: 1974 (Kennenbunkport, Maine: Mercer House, 1974). p. 155. 19 20 the financial picture began to brighten, Payne's two older sisters were in the city college preparing to teach. "Ironically, as soon as my sisters went into teaching, a severe recession caused a crisis in the city finances," Payne recalled. "There were long periods of payless paydays and a dreadful time with script, worth only eighty cents on the dollar." Somehow, Payne and her family survived without going on welfare. During these financial crises the close-knit family held frequent family councils. Her early career goals were directed toward being a lawyer in order to "defend the rights of the less fortu- nate." Payne said, "Such was my innocence. While this was frustrated, my mother steadfastly encouraged me to use my talents in creative writing." Payne received her education in Chicago. She graduated from Lindblom High School in 1932. In 1934 she graduated from Crane Junior College, and between 1934 and 1937 she attended the Chicago Garrett Institute. Her education was sandwiched between work. While she concen- trated on her education, she also held a job as senior library assistant at the Chicago Public Library. In 1941 she completed journalism course work in evening classes at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern Uni— versity. Upon completion of her courses at Medill, she was still employed at the library. "After I worked there for 21 awhile," she reflected, "I was definitely ready for a change, something more challenging. Work at the library was boring for me, and I'm almost sure I was a bore to it." She still had the idea of becoming a lawyer. Payne applied to the University of Chicago Law School but was rejected. "You know I had two strikes against me then," she said, "being black and a woman. The aspiring lawyer awaited the next challenge and sought opportunities overseas . A New Challenge in Japan Payne learned that the army had a number of open- ings for women. She was looking for a challenging oppor- tunity and decided to apply for a position in the army. She was named Army Service Club Director on the Tokyo Quartermaster Depot in 1948. Unknowingly to Payne, this not only offered a chance to travel, but also an oppor- tunity to step into a career as an observer and commen- tator of "things that should be but were not." Her three-year tour of duty offered opportunities to meet new people. One adventure during her years as a club director stands out in her memory. It began with a diary she kept. The diary included her observations of places she had visited in the Orient, people she had met and the treat- ment of black GIs she had observed. The last entry in her diary was the most important. 22 Payne said that when the Korean conflict broke out, a number of correspondents passed through Tokyo. Alex Wilson, a reporter with the Chicago Defender, met her while he toured her unit. The diary was mentioned in conversation. Wilson became interested in her view of the situation and asked to see the diary. "I let him have several pages of the diary," she explained, "and I was surprised as everyone else to see the result and headlines in the Defender about the goings on in Japan and Korea." Material from her diary was transformed into articles for readers in the States. These reports gave a new view of some of the problems facing black 613. The articles described the number of courts-martial black GIs faced, problems in leaving behind children by Japanese girls and the way GIs COped with racially biased com- manders. After news reports hit the front pages of the Defender, Payne was summoned to General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters and ordered sent home for disrupting troop morale. At the time, Thurgood Marshall, then Special Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was in Tokyo investigating the high number of "drumhead" courts-martial of black soldiers. He intervened on Payne's behalf to change MacArthur's ruling, and she was not dismissed. She returned to the States voluntarily in March 1951. 23 Reporting for the Defender The Defender was impressed with Payne's obser- vations in Japan and soon offered her a job as a reporter. She joined the staff in 1952 and took her place behind a manual typewriter there, thus launching her career in journalism. "My dashed barrister hOpes were re-channeled into championing causes through writing," she said. "I have never regretted it. I think it has established my credentials as a humanist." Payne's first assignment at the Defender showed her credentials as a humanist. She wrote in-depth reports on the adOption of black babies who were offsprings of Japanese girls and black 613. These features ran as a series, which in 1952 won first prize from the Illinois Press Association. At the end of that year, Payne traveled through- out the South picking up features on blacks about problems they had in housing, writing about unemployment and describing the role of black churches in the community. She stepped in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Ed Goodwin, the publisher of The Oklahoma Eagle, a black weekly, was in search of an editor. He thought Payne could fill the position, and after an extensive discussion with her, he asked his attorney to draw up a contract giving her 24 49 percent of the profit. He also agreed that as the paper grew she would share a larger percentage of the profit.2 Payne hurried back to Chicago with an impressive looking document, complete with a gold seal. She waved it triumphantly under the nose of Louis Martin, editor- in-chief of the Defender. "See, if you all don't appre- ciate me, here's somebody who does," she boasted.3 Martin's only reply was that the ambitious Payne did not have 51 percent and was not likely getting much of a deal from the venture. Sensing Payne was restless and wanted a change, he proposed a six-month assignment in Washington, which began her career as a Washington correspondent. The temporary assignment lasted twenty years. Defender Correspondents Since World War II on either a part-time or full- time basis, a correspondent represented the Defender in the Capital. Al Smith, a Defender reporter, originated a popular column, "National Grapevine." This column con- tained lively comments on the black cabinet of the Roosevelt administration.4 Harry McAlpin periodically submitted articles as a Washington correspondent for the 2Payne, p. 155. 31bid., p. 154. 41bid. 25 Defender in the 19403. Louis Lautier also provided national stories to the Defender. He represented the National Newspapers Publishers Association and was the first black reporter to be accredited to the White House. Alice A. Dunnigan, a representative for Associated Negro Press, was also a part-time contributor. Dunnigan is cited as the first black woman reporter to be accredited as a national correspondent. The Defender relied heavily on Lautier for news events in the Capital until Venice Tipton Spraggs became the regular correspondent for the Defender in 1943. Spraggs served as national correspondent for the Defender until Payne's arrival. She resigned from the position to permanently join the staff of the Democratic National Committee. Filling Spraggs' place in Washington made Payne feel like a child trying to step into grown-ups' shoes. Payne said, "Whatever accomplishments I made during my twenty years in Washington, I owe in large part to Venice Spraggs."5 Ethel Payne in Washington "We purposely waited to fill the Washington assignment in our organization until we were satisfied that we had a person capable of doing the same super job of giving our readers the most accurate coverage possible Ibid. 26 of Washington," Louis Martin said.6 Payne was sent to Washington in 1953, where she was a one-person bureau. "My office was the cluttered living room of my small apartment and the murky depths of a battered bags."7 She worked around the clock to build contacts and acquired a reputation as a peripatetic prowler who could be expected to turn up anywhere, anytime. This included even the White House.8 To apply for White House credentials, a reporter must be a representative of a newspaper, magazine, broad- cast station or wire service. Payne applied for White House credentials and was welcomed to the corps by James P. Hagerty, press secretary to President Dwight D. Eisen- hower. "Ike" was famed for his Irish temper and a pet ulcer, both of which Payne aroused.9 In White House press conferences she came prepared with questions, and some of them surprised Eisenhower and Hagerty because neither were prepared with the answers. The following chapter describes Payne and the questions she asked at press conferences. 6 Chicago Defender, 28 November 1953, p. 1. 7Payne, p. 158. 8 Ibid. Ibid. CHAPTER III ETHEL PAYNE AT WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCES Payne's coverage of Washington began the same day President Dwight D. Eisenhower took the oath of office on Capitol Hill.1 At that time, Washington was a city with sharply defined racial lines. "When I came to D.C.," Payne recalled, "black people couldn't even eat in govern- ment cafeterias, let alone in public places."2 During her first year in Washington, she became known to White House officials. She diligently researched topics of interest to her black constituents. This preparation pro- vided her with enough information to present well-planned questions to the president. She received her White House press credentials that winter, joining Louis Lautier and Alice A. Dunnigan as the only black national correspondents.3 Lautier lGrayson Mitchell, "Ethel Payne," Essence, March 1974, p. 66. 2 3 Ibid. Ibid. 27 28 represented the National Newspapers Publishers Association and was cOnsidered to be a shorthand expert. His ability to take verbatim notes at press conferences attracted correspondents from larger newspapers. They would gather around him to check for accuracy before dashing to the telephone to file their stories.4 "I always thought that this was a way of using Lautier," Payne said. "Some reporters actually checked his notes against their own. On the other hand, there were reporters who did not take notes during the conference and Lautier was their way out."5 In 1947 Dunnigan became the first black female to be accredited to the White House press corps. She repre- 6 In the beginning, sented the Associated Negro Press. Dunnigan wrote years later, race and sex were twin strikes against her. "I don't know which of these barriers was the hardest to break down. I think sex was the most dif- ficult because I not only had to convince members of the other race of my capability, but I had to fight against discrimination of Negro men, as well as against envy and 4Ethel Payne interview in Chicago, September 1, 1978. 51bid. 6Alice A. Dunnigan, A Black Woman's Experience: From Schoolhouse to White House (Philadelphia: Dorrance and Company, 1974), p. 209. 29 jealousy of my own race."7 Payne agreed that being black and a woman were two strikes against her in the press corps. Payne said, "Some white colleagues were unfriendly and often ignored the black reporters. Yet, there were also correspondents mostly from larger newspapers who assisted me when I had questions." Speaking about the importance of blacks in journalism, Payne said, "By our presence as national correspondents we represented the black community and were not to be ignored."8 The White House press corps was predominantly male and white. Few women represented the White House during the 19503.9 Women Washington correspondents included Sarah McClendon of Beaumont Enterprises, a Texas chain of newspapers, and (Elisabeth) May Craig, Portland 10 Press Herald. Craig and McClendon were recognized regularly by the President during press conferences. Payne was also recognized regularly. At one point, Payne was unjustly criticized by colleagues for wanting the President's acknowledgment so often.11 71bid. 81bid. 9Sarah McClendon, My Eight Presidents (New York: Wyden Books, 1978), p. 23. 10Ethel Payne, "Loneliness in the Capital," Per- spectives of the Black Press: 1974 (Kennenbunkport, Maine: Mercer House Press, 1974), P. 155. llDunnigan, p. 374. 30 Recognition at Press Conferences A timid or passive reporter did not ask questions during press conferences. Shouting out "Mr. President!" and vying for the president's attention was one way to obtain answers to questions of interest to individual readership. "It was especially to the advantage of the black reporter to be assertive and shout 'Mr. President' because problems affecting the black community were not forefront questions in the minds of white correspon- dents."12 Concerns affecting the black community would have been overlooked in these press conferences if it was not for black representation in the White House press corps.13 Black representation was all of three people. In some instances Payne was accused of "showboating" dur- ing press conferences because she was often called on by the president to present her questions. Some critics looked on this as a way for her to get her name in the New York Times transcripts or to be recorded in the Egg; Public Papers of the President.14 As for showboating, the gratification Payne received in press conferences was obtaining answers to 12Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 13Payne, p. 156. 14Ibid. 31 15 "I felt that it questions which concerned her readers. was unfair since those blacks who were accredited along with me had the same right to try and ask questions as I," Payne said. "The fact that they kept silent was self- exclusion to me."16 Questions put to the president were carefully planned and dealt with issues of concern to minorities. Payne saw herself as a conduit through which presidential thinking would flow to a segment of peOple whose interests were not normally represented in the press.17 Clarence Mitchell, the director of the Washington Bureau National Association for the Advancement of Negroes, often called Payne to express his appreciation for her questions. This was also true of Val Washington and his assistant Thalia Thomas of the Republican National Committee. Despite the partisanship involved, they were both helpful to Payne.18 Eisenhower held regularly scheduled formal press conferences. "He was also more democratic in his recog- nition of reporters, giving a fairly equitable spread between media giants such as the Washington Post, New York Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Baltimore 15Payne interview, September 1, 1978. l6Payne, p. 156. 17Ibid. lBIbid., p. 155. 32 Sun."19 He also recognized wire services, television and radio networks and small city newspapers. The sessions usually took place each Thursday in the Treaty Room of the Executive Office Building across the street from the White House. About four hundred correspondents and reporters packed into the room. "The chances of getting the coveted nod depended upon your dexterity in leaping to your feet and crying 'Mr. Presidentl'"20 The transcripts of the press conferences carried the names of correspondents and the media organizations they represented. "There was a great deal of vying for recognition in order that your boss would be pleased with the prestige that went along with it."21 This practice inevitably led to charges that the press was ego tripping rather than getting information as a service to readers.22 In 1960 the custom of individual identification was dropped.23 Civil Rights Top Question for Payne Payne's first question at a presidential press conference concerned an incident in which the Howard Uni- versity choir was turned away from a Republican Lincoln lgIbid. 2orbid. 211bid., p. 156. 22Ibid. 230.8. President, Public Papers of the Presi- dents, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 159, p. 248. 33 Day celebration. The choir was asked to perform-with groups from Duke and Emory universities.24 During the February 10, 1954, press conference Payne said, "Mr. President, last Friday evening at the Lincoln Day box supper at the Arena, the Howard University choir, which was scheduled to sing, was barred from the hall by dis- 25 Q I Before answer1ng, Eisenhower conferred trict police." with his press secretary, James P. Hagerty, then said he had not been informed of the incident. "I am told by Mr. Hagerty that the bus driver was instructed to go around to the door by which I entered and he refused to go around to that place. I hope there is no connection between those facts," Eisenhower said, with humor intended. The president added that if the choir was barred because of racial discrimination, as Payne feared, he would be the first to apologize.26 Two articles by Payne appeared in the Defender following this press conference. The first story, February 13, 1954, was a report on what occurred at the Lincoln Day celebration from the viewpoint of the bus driver for the choir. It also described how the president 24Chicago Defender, 13 February 1954, p. l. 25Payne, p. 156. 26U.S. President, Public Papers of the Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1954, p. 304. 34 explained the incident. The second article appeared February 20, 1954, under the headline, "Ike Sorry About Howard Incident, He Tells Defender." WASHINGTON - President Eisenhower said Wednesday at a press conference that if there was any indi— cation of prejudice because of race in barring the choir of Howard University from the Lincoln Day supper last week that he was sorry.27 After this, Payne's recognition at press con- ferences occurred regularly. Questions Raised by Payne In the March 17, 1954, press conference, Payne's question was about the problems of human rights in the United States and abroad. Payne said, Mr. President, Vice President Nixon said on his return from Asia that every act of racial dis- crimination or prejudice in the United States hurts America as much as an espionage agent who turns over a weapon to a foreign agent. He added that every American citizen can contribute towards creating a better understanding of American ideas abroad by practicing and thinking tolerance and respect for human rights every day of the year. Payne said she knew Eisenhower had taken a firm stand along these lines.28 In conclusion, she asked Eisenhower if he felt that the continuance of the McCarran-Walter Act statutes containing national origins quota systems, which 27Chicago Defender, 20 February 1954, p. l. 28U.S. President, Public Papers, p. 323. 35 discriminates against Asiatic peoples from Southeastern Europe and the West Indies, was harming foreign policy. She also asked Eisenhower if there would be any proposal made to Congress on immigration which might alleviate these conditions.29 Later in the same conference, she asked Eisenhower if he would urge Congress to act favorably on 8.262, the bill to prohibit segregation in interstate travel. Eisen- hower said he had not heard of the bill but would look into it. "I would have to consult the attorney general and see what he says about our authority there," Eisenhower explained.30 Payne was prepared for each press conference with a list of questions. "Sometimes only two or three of my questions were put to the president during press con- ferences," Payne said, "but I never came without a list 31 A byproduct of things I wanted to know for the readers." of black correspondents' vocalness was the increase of questions on racial matters from white colleagues. Racial matters in the United States were developing into big stories, and larger newspapers became more interested in them.32 291bid., p. 324. 3OIbid. 31Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 32 Dunnigan, p. 209; William L. Rivers, "Washing- ton I: The Correspondents after 25 Years," Columbia Journalism Review, Spring 1962, pp. 4-7. 36 Discrimination in_Housing and Interstate Travel Two important problems in the United States which Payne asked Eisenhower to confront were discrimination in housing and in interstate travel. Referring to Eisenhower's housing message to Con- gress, Payne re-Opened the issue for discussion during the April 7, 1954, press conference. Payne asked: Mr. President, you said the administrative policies governing the Operations of several housing agen- cies must be, and will be, materially strengthened and augmented in order to assure equal opportunity for all citizens to acquire, within their means, good and well-located homes. Then there was further reference to the misuse of slum clearance to dislocate persons. I would like to know what administrative regulations have been issued by the housing agencies to implement this part of the message. 3 Eisenhower replied that he would have to look up the answer for next week's conference.34 Payne pushed for action in helping minorities solve problems of discrimination. She later said that Eisenhower's policy did not lean toward changing acts of discrimination through legislation. He felt that dis- crimination would cease only if peOple changed their minds.35 33U.S. President, Public Papers, p. 386. 34Ibid. 35Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 37 Payne revived the housing issue during the May 5, 1954, conference. She said: Mr. President, I would like to refer to the question asked you on April 7th, as to whether the several housing agencies had issued any regulations to implement the statement in your housing message to Congress that everything should be done to assure good and well-located homes for all citizens. You said then that you would have an answer later for this.36 Payne added that no such regulation had been forthcoming and cited the situation at Levittown, Pennsylvania. In Levittown, members of minority groups were barred from some housing. Payne asked Eisenhower if he had any infor- mation about this. Eisenhower conferred with Murray Snyder, assistant to the press secretary, then answered Payne's question: "Mr. Snyder tells me that there have been some reports come to the White House, but they are of a general character and the only hope of getting a detailed report such as you describe is to go to the FHA peOple themselves, that department."37 Payne said that before presenting a question such as this, she had done the needed legwork and probing at the housing authority. She posed this question on the housing matter to Eisenhower because she was not success- ful in getting information from the FHA.38 360.8. President, Public Papers, p. 453. 37Ibid. 38Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 38 Discrimination in interstate travel was another area Payne covered. After two foreign students in Alabama were subjected to discrimination on a bus in interstate travel, Payne confronted Eisenhower during the June 16, 1954, press conference. "There are several bills before both Houses that are in committee," Payne said.39 When Eisenhower did not especially want to talk about something, he looked at you with a "military stare" and then proceeded to answer.40 He answered that he had not seen the bills and knew nothing about them. "I think my general views on this whole subject are well known, and you also know that I believe in progress accomplished through the intelligence of people and through the cooper- ation of people more than law, if we can get it that way," Eisenhower said.41 Payne's Questions Annoy Eisenhower Payne continued to push for legislation to stop discrimination in housing and interstate travel. She did not want to settle for progress merely through "the intel- ligence of people." Her probing placed her in what is known in journalism as the "deep freeze," a state of 39U.S. President, Public Papers, p. 574. 40Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 41U.S. President, Public Papers, p. 574. 39 official incommunicado. Her communication with the Presi- dent had COme to a head when she had asked Eisenhower what he intended to do about ending segregation in interstate travel. The Interstate Commerce Commission had issued an opinion saying that the time had come when the practice should cease.42 At the next press conference, Payne said: Mr. President, we were very happy last week when the Deputy Attorney General sent a communication to the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee say- ing that there was a legal basis for passing a law to ban segregation in interstate travel. In view of the recent decision by the Supreme Court in the schools cases, such legislation ought to be enacted by Congress at this time, and the Bureau of the Budget approved. I would like to know if we could assume that we have the administration support in getting action on this. Eisenhower took this question as a personal affront. Drawing himself up to his five-star general authority, he proceeded to chew out Payne as he would one of his top sergeants.44 You say you have to have administrative support. The administration is trying to do what it thinks and believes to be decent and just in this country and is not in the effort to support any particular or special group of any kind. These opinions were sent down, these beliefs are held as part of the administration beliefs, because w? think it is just and right and that is the answer. 5 42Payne, p. 156. 430.8. President, Public Papers, p. 624. 44Payne, p. 156. 45U.S. President, Public Papers, p. 624. 40 Thereafter, Payne was called on only twice dur- ing Eisenhower's five years as president. She was recog- nized in the August 4, 1954, and February 2, 1955, press conferences.46 Eisenhower's angry reaction had startled veteran newsmen as well as Payne. Edward Folliard of the Washingppn Post told Payne that he had not seen that kind of temper displayed since Franklin Roosevelt was angry at him. Roosevelt had almost leaped from his wheelchair to grab Folliard because of a question he asked. After Payne's question, the Washington Evening Star carried a center box on page one with the headline: "Negro Reporter Angers Ike."47 When word of the incident reached Chicago, Payne's mother, an old-fashioned Republican, telephoned to gently chide her: "Now, sister, I don't think you ought to be down there making the president mad." Maxwell Rabb, the secretary to the cabinet, was considered an ombudsman on minority matters. He discussed the situation with Payne and said he would try to get the "deep freeze" lifted. The greatest advantage of black reporters being accredited to the White House was that they were able to raise questions of interest to the black pOpulation. This offered the opportunities for a face-to—face reply 46Ibid., p. 681; U.S. President, Public Papers of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1955, p. 231. 47Washington Evening Star, 7 July 1954, p. l. 41 with the president on important issues and his personal opinion On various subjects as well as a promise on what he intended to do about existing problems.48 Payne was not alone in the "deep freeze" during the remainder of Eisenhower's term. Dunnigan of Associated Negro Press, a black wire service, had been under an un- official ban since April 29, 1954, when she posed a question about discrimination in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing;49 Lautier, a staunch Republican and an ardent con— servative as well as a male chauvinist, verbally attacked Dunnigan and Payne for competing with each other to see which one could ask President Eisenhower the most and the longest questions.50 Lautier was not under any type of ”deep freeze" throughout Eisenhower's term. Payne's Credentials Threatened While Payne was in a "deep freeze" at White House press conferences, she was also the target of an investi- gation aimed at taking away her White House credentials. Hagerty and Snyder questioned Payne about her association with the AFL-CIO Political Action Committee. "This was the arm of the labor confederation headed by Walter Reuther, president of the UAW. It was an anathema to the 48Dunnigan, p. 374. 491bid., p. 375. SOIbid., p. 377. 42 Republicans."51 Payne had written articles on a part— time basis for one of its in-house publications. Hagerty and Snyder accused her of violating regulations of the White House Correspondents Association by being on the AFL-CIO payroll at the same time. She no longer wrote for the publication, but she felt that her credentials were in jeopardy.52 Hagerty also requested a review of her income tax return. When Clarence Mitchell, director of the NAACP, heard of Payne's problems, he wrote a letter to Hagerty and Snyder accusing them of intimidating a black reporter. Since the White House did not want to be entangled with the NAACP, the harassment stepped, but the president ignored Payne's efforts to ask questions.53 Payne's presence in the White House press corps contributed to breaking barriers of discrimination. As a conduit to the black community, she asked questions that would otherwise go unasked. The "deep freeze" did not stOp her from covering issues for her constituents. The question of civil rights was a major issue for blacks. Important civil rights events covered by Payne between 1954 and 1958 are examined in the following chapter. 51Payne, p. 157. SZIbid. 53Payne interview, September 1, 1978. CHAPTER IV CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES COVERED BY ETHEL L. PAYNE Between 1954 and 1958 Payne had become so close to the civil rights revolution she was virtually a part of it. Her protest against racial injustices appeared in her story selection and slant she gave to it. Excerpts from her articles on civil rights and her opinion of sig- nificant stages in the movement are highlighted in this chapter. The chapter begins with her coverage of the Supreme Court's decision in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The decision was delivered May 17, 1954.1 Supreme Court 1954 Decision No document in the struggle for civil rights approaches the significance of the unanimous 1954 Supreme Court opinion in Brown v. Board of Education of TOpeka.2 l347 U.S. 483; 347 U.S. 497. 2Harry S. Ashmore, The Negro and the Schools, 2d ed. revised (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1954), pp. 15-16. 43 44 The decision struck down all state-imposed racial dis— criminatiOn, ruling it unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision climaxed more than two centuries of litigation on the legal status of blacks. The Brown case marked the opening of a new era in the legal struggle for black equality. Many blacks saw the decision as full emanci- pation. The decision on May 17 was reported by all media, including the Defender. At the time of the decision, the Defender was still a weekly newspaper. It would become a daily newspaper in 1956. Payne's report on the Supreme Court's decision appeared five days after the court's announcement of it May 22, 1954. She wrote: WASHINGTON--The Supreme Court's decision Monday abolishing segregation in public schools came about 100 years after the Civil War and possibly paved the way for the complete emancipation of America's 16,000,000 Negroes. It is being hailed as the most important posi- tive event in the life of the U.S. Negro since Abraham Lincoln 31 ned the Emancipation Proclamation outlawing slavery. Payne's narratives on the 1954 decision reported the tangible effects of the decision and investigated its meaning for blacks. One of Payne's accounts captured the relevance of the decision through the eyes of an old black man. A portion of her article showed a dream that came true for him. Payne wrote: 3Chicago Defender, 22 May 1954, p. 5. 45 The old man with the cane toiled painfully up the long flight of marble stairs leading up to the chambers of the Supreme Court of the United States. With his free hand he clutched the hand of a small bright-eyed boy. Past him the throng of hopeful spectators hurried. A reporter approached the old man. "I'm 95," he told him. "I was born in slavery. This here's my great-grandchild. I jes wanta see if it's gonna happen. We been waitin' a long time. Maybe it'll be better for Sonny here. And if it does come, I kin go on to glory happy."4 The wait had been a long one, but the decision held its greatest impact in opening the doors of school desegregation. There were five separate legal actions that made up the school segregation case of 1954. The least important case was the suit involving Oliver Brown and the Board of Education of Topeka. Brown appeared first on the Supreme Court docket for the 1953 October term because it was the first name in alphabetical order. Cases accompanying it were Gebhart v. Belton from Delaware, Briggs v. Elliott from South Carolina and Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County from Virginia. In the fifth suit, Bolling v. Sharpe, which was viewed as the most important, the validity of segregation in the public schools of the District of Columbia was challenged.5 4Chicago Defender, 22 May 1954, p. 31. 5Albert P. Blaustein and Robert Zangrando, eds., Civil Rights and the American Negro (New York: Trident Press, 1968), pp. 416—17. 46 The same afternoon that the 1954 decision was delivered, Payne visited the Bolling family to get their reaction to the announcement. The mother, Mrs. Sarah Bolling, had been under attack by neighbors, who felt she was using her son as a test case. The Bolling case had begun in 1950 when Sarah Bolling took her son, Spottswood, to seek admission to the all-white Sousa Junior High School. He was refused admission and the historic case was under way. Following the Supreme Court's decision, Payne described the day the decision was delivered: The house on Park Place is a modest row home, unpretentious and immaculately kept. Outside a cordon photographers and reporters kept an alert vigil. There are only a few colored families in the block and the neighborhood kids camped on the doorstep to wait for "Spotts." About 5:15 Spottswood sauntered around the corner. He 6 spotted the photographers and started to back up. The fifteen-year-old boy was considered a local hero among friends. Payne shared this part of the Bolling life with her readers. "Persistence was the key to winning," Payne reported.7 Covering the Montgomery Bus Boycott Continuing the steadfast struggle for equal rights, blacks waged a 382-day bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. On December 1, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, 6Chicago Defender, 29 May 1954, p. 3. 71bid. 47 was arrested and fined ten dollars for refusing to give up her seat to a white person. Payne reported the event in the Defender. MONTGOMERY, Ala.--The morning of last December 1, Mrs. Rosa Parks, a middle-aged, quiet, refined seam- stress, boarded a bus here on her way to her job in a tailoring shop. She sat down in the colored section as required by law, but as the bus began to fill up with White passengers, the surly driver ordered her to get up and give her seat to a white man. Instead of meekly obeying, Mrs. Parks protested, whereupon the driver stopped the bus, pushed her off and had her arrested for disorderly conduct.8 This event touched off reactions in the turbulent history of race relations in the South. The bus boycott was begun four days later by a young black minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. When the boycott went into its third month, Payne reported on its progress and the ploys used by city officials to counter the movement. Despite threats and intimidations, there were no signs of the boycott weaken- ing. . . . The protest boycott was originally called for one day, but after it proved successful, it continued. With 75 percent of its revenue gone, the transit company and city officials are desperately seeking ways to settle the crippling economic effects with- out losing face. 8Chicago Defender, 5 December 1955, p. 1. 9Chicago Defender, 7 February 1955, p. l. 48 Payne's report revealed specific tactics used by the city to end the boycott. "They tried bullying," she wrote. "City police began arresting and ticketing owners of private cars on false speeding charges."10 Her articles integrated facts from the boycott with another significant aspect in the Montgomery Bus Boycott: an emerging civil rights leader. In another report on the boycott, Payne focused on King and his peaceful form of demonstration; it ran under the headline, "Rev. King's Own Story of Montgomery Boycott." MONTGOMERY, Ala.--"Peace can be obnoxious if it is not a true peace without compromise. Violence is the seed of its own destruction. Even if violence is visited upon us, we will not return it." Those are the words Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a 27-year-old 20th century disciple, spoke a few hours after a judge gave him a choice of paying a $500 fine or serving 386 days at hard labor for "conspiring to sustain Montgomery's four-month-old bus boycott. He is appealing.11 Throughout the bus boycott Payne was a herald for the civil rights movement. She supported the campaign for equal rights by extensively covering individual events. In an interview, King told her: This moVement from the very beginning was a spon— taneous outgrowth of natural resentment over long and continued abuses. It came from the people and it is truly a peOple's movement. One could say this is really part of the worldwide revolt of loIbid. llChicago Defender, 12 December 1955, p. l. 49 subjugated peOples in their yearning for the dignity that belongs to free men. Payne believed that the civil rights movement was a story about people, and she continued to focus on personalities of those working in the movement. Her coverage of school integration at the University of Alabama is another example. Autherine Lucy at the University of Alabama Although the Supreme Court's decision in 1954 set forth a constitutional principle outlawing segregation in public schools, race was still a factor of admissions in the all-white southern schools. In 1956 Payne reported the celebrated decision in which the court ordered the University of Alabama to admit Autherine Lucy, a black library science student. The customary, passive role of blacks had changed. Alabama was jolted from its customs by Autherine Lucy's request for admission to the state's university. Blacks had become more outspoken and no longer patient to wait for change. They wanted to implement change. Payne reported: New York--Courageous Autherine Lucy last week vowed to continue her fight to re-enter the Uni- versity of Alabama. Her statement came during a press conference Friday afternoon in the New York office of the NAACP. 12Chicago Defender, 10 March 1956, p. 1. 50 She was whisked here Thursday from Birmingham by Thurgood Marshall, NAACP legal counsel after being expelled permanently from the University of Alabama campus. 3 While Lucy was in New York, Payne accompanied the 26-year-old women on a shOpping spree and learned more about her. In Payne's narrative, "Small Town Girl on Spree in N.Y.," she constructed the picture of a courageous, but simplistic young woman.14 Payne reported: NEW YORK--Autherine Lucy got a taste of big city life last week, but she took it in stride the same as she has taken her ordeal for admission to the University of Alabama. The only time she showed any tension since the crisis of Feb. 15, when the riots occurred, was when she faced a battery of reporters in NAACP headquarters the day she arrived. At heart, she is a small town girl with the sedate habits of quiet living. The milling con- fusion of glaring lights, shouted orders of the Fourth Estate upset the normal equilibrium of her personality.15 Students' Reactions to Lucy at University of Alabama Further examination of the Lucy case took Payne to the University of Alabama. Payne wrote: "When I went to the campus of the school accompanied by James L. Hicks, editor of the Amsterdam News, and Miss Emily Barrett of the Alabama Citizen, the group was warned that our lives were in danger." The acting public relations director of the university warned the group that if they carried l3Chicago Defender, 17 March 1956, p. 5. 14Ibid. 15Ibid., p. 3. 51 out their intentions to question students, he could not be responsible for what might happen. Despite the warn- ing, Payne and a party of black reporters interviewed University of Alabama students. They queried students on their reaction to the university's Board of Trustees temporarily barring Lucy from attending classes. The students Payne interviewed agreed that Lucy was expelled for her own protection from mob violence and not for racial discrimination. Lucy made no further attempt to re-enter the university. The University of Alabama remained segregated until 1963.16 Facets of the Civil Rights Movement The road to revolution had been paved by Supreme Court decisions on school desegregation, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Lucy's attempts to attend the University of Alabama. The revolution was based on three important points--the way blacks viewed themselves, the blacks' place in American life and the attitudes of the white community toward blacks. In the months that followed Lucy's case, an interesting and at times exciting inter- play of action developed between the government and the 16Chicago Defender, 18 February 1956, p. l. 52 civil rights advocates. This interplay and Payne's reports on the movement's progress helped to perpetuate the revolution.17 The 1957 Prayar Pilgrimage On the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision, more than 27,000 people converged on Washington to pray for further civil rights legislation. People came from thirty-six states to hear speeches from civil rights leaders in the movement. The speeches focused on civil rights legislation to improve voting privileges for blacks. During the pilgrimage, King, who had gained popularity in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, emerged as the principal civil rights leader.18 Payne described the pilgrimage in a story headlined "30,000 Pilgrims Pray for Rights Legis- lation." Payne said: "More than 27,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. for a solemn prayer pilgrimage for freedom service. This event commemorated the third anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in the school cases."19 l7William Loren Katz, Eyewitness: The Negro in American History (New York: Pittman Publishing Co., 1967), PP. 480-81. . 18"Prayer Pilgrimage to Washington," Ebony, AUGUSt 1957, pp. 16-20. 19Chicago Defender, 25 May 1957, p. 1. 53 Payne told her readers that in King's speech he asked the United States to give blacks the ballot. No attempt was made by the organizers of the pilgrimage to contact or see the president, vice president or any leaders in Congress.20 The pilgrimage was a moral lobby. Years later Payne reflected these were the kinds of steps that made the movement work: organization and unflagging support from those who believed in it. Covering Desegregation in Little Rock School desegregation was tested in Little Rock in 1957. The Little Rock story was the biggest news story of the year, topped only by the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik. The Little Rock story was about school deseg- regation and the South's resistance to change. But the Little Rock story did not begin in 1957. If anything, the story was a temporary focus of a great, continuing and unresolved dilemma--racial injustice.21 Here, the revolution touched upon concepts of morality, social change and law. President Eisenhower, after reiterating his disapproval of legally forced integration, ordered federal troops to Little Rock to prevent Faubus from interfering with school integration. 20Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 21Harry S. Ashmore, "The Easy Chair: The Untold Story Behind Little Rock," Harpers Magazine, June 1958, p. 12. 54 In the Defender, Payne explained the tale of Little Rock and why Governor Orval Faubus called out state troops to stop black children from entering the school. Payne wrote: LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--This is the story of the strange case of Orval Faubus. It is a classic illustration of a frustrated man bowing to political expediency and finding himself slipping in the quicksand of fine public opinion. While Faubus is a hero to a few segregationists, an intensive study of Little Rock shows that only a small minority of its citizens are out and out extremists. He's already a heel to the vast majority of law abiding citizens who wish pro- foundly that he had never dragged them on the spot as a symbol of "overthrowing the U.S. Government."22 At a September 3, 1957, press conference, Washing- ton correspondent Edward P. Morgan had asked Eisenhower what he thought of Faubus ordering the school surrounded by state troops to prevent enrollment of black students. The governor had directly defied the federal court order enforcing school desegregation. The question angered the president. Morgan reminded him that the situation at Little Rock was still tense and went on to say that the Civil Rights Commission was not effective in helping matters. "Did this mean the present policy of the admin- istration was to follow rather than lead on civil rights?" Morgan asked.23 Payne described the president's reaction 22Chicago Defender, 7 September 1957, p. l. 23Chicago Defender, 14 September 1957, p. l. 55 to the question in one of her articles. She said: "The muscles in the President's jaw tightened and his color heightened a little as he folded his arms across his chest in a typified gesture of exasperated patience with the needling annoying habits of reporters."24 After observing the interplay between reporter and president, Payne wrote: WASHINGTON--Four years of attending White House press conferences and observing the President's reaction to the wide range of questions put to him have convinced me that his greatest sensitivity is to queries on civil rights. The moment something in this area is posed, the Ike temper goes up and the defensive bristles become erect like porcupine quills. It's true he hasn't actually exploded on the subject since back in 1954 when he got riled up over a question in interstate travel, but neverthe- less he is visibly disturbed.25 During the course of events surrounding Little Rock, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was signed. It was the first civil rights legislation passed by Congress since the Reconstruction. Essentially, the act empowered the federal government to seek court injunctions against obstruction or deprivation of voting rights. The act also created the Civil Rights Commission and developed the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice.26 24 25 Ibid. Ibid. 26Blaustein and Zangrando, pp. 574-75. 56 Before the signing of the Civil Rights Act, Payne expressed discontent with the text of the bill. She wrote: WASHINGTON-~President Eisenhower early this week was preparing to sign into law the battered, almost recognizable version of the civil rights bill passed by Congress after virtually all the teeth had been pulled from the original adminis- tration measure. At 11:45 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, the Senate made history by passing the first civil rights bill since 1874. The moment was marked, not so much with rejoicing by supporters of the legislation, but by weary relief that at long last the ordeal was over and they could pack their bags and go home. Many were frank to admit that the final version of the House Bill had been gutted and weakened so that it was a mere shadow of itself. They philo- sophically consoled themselves with saying, "Well, at least, it's a step forward."27 Payne later said that one way to characterize race relations in 1957 was that things sometimes got worse before they got better. The civil rights calendar to 1957 reflected both gains and losses in the movement.28 A Common Characteristic in Payne's Articles Payne focused on the human element in her reporting of civil rights events. This was a major attribute of her observations of race relations and the effects of civil rights legislation. In special analysis, she did not 27Chicago Defender, 7 September 1957, p. l. 28Chicago Defender, 11 January 1958, p. l. 57 hesitate in telling the reader her personal feelings on the issues. Her articles until 1958 constituted a chrono- logical examination of the civil rights movement. She narrated the civil rights story by using the words of those involved in the events which affected the black community. She talked to families involved with segregation issues. She also interviewed older blacks and compared their insights with the claims of the younger blacks. She recognized the blacks' changing roles in society and documented them in her articles. More than anything, she realized that the story behind civil rights was not in straight fact reporting. Payne said she reported the facts of the movement, attended press con— ferences held by leaders in the movement and listened carefully to each political candidate's platform when election time came. "I was in the position to give both sides of the story," Payne said. "I could report what was happening in the movement and give my perspective on the movement and people involved in it."29 Between 1954 and 1958, she reported significant events and issues in the civil rights movement from every angle. In 1956, she wrote an eight-part series on civil rights, "The South at the Crossroads." In the weekly series, she re-examined events she had covered at the 29Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 58 height of the movement. She appraised not only the role of blacks but also how others viewed the movement.30 She weaved in material about the principal leader of the movement. Writing about the needs of blacks for equality, she recognized King's leadership in the Mont- gomery Bus Boycott and the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage. Payne said in an interview in 1978 that a leader is one who understands the needs of those who look for guidance. In essence, leadership is in the hands of those commonly looked on as followers. "I believe Dr. King is considered the last leader of the civil rights movement. When King was gaining in popularity, there were those leaders in the civil rights movement who resented him," Payne recalled. She cited Roy Wilkins of the National Associ- ation for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as reluctant in accepting and in following King's principles. "The goal of equality was a shared one for both Wilkins and King in the push for civil rights, but jealousy crept in when the limelight had to be shared. The people, black people made up the movement and the goal was to unite everyone in a common spirit," she added.31 3oChicago Defender, 11 January 1958, p. 12. 31Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 59 Payne's Assessment of the Movement By the end of 1957 the goals of equality had not been reached. In "What Will '58 Congress Do?" Payne reported that "the outlook for civil rights was poor." She said Congress was shirking their duties and listing other areas as top priority, which had little to do with helping blacks. She reviewed priority topics in the Con- gressional schedule and discussed what the two major political parties thought of the agenda. In 1958 she wrote: The happiest people right now are the Democrats-- for two reasons. In an off-year election, the cam- paign issues are being plucked out of Little Jack Horner's pies like fat plums on all ten fingers. Secondly, in the cry over missiles, civil rights, the monkey on the back of the Democrats has been almost forgotten. The louder the talk on Sputnik, the more the bothersome question of desegregation and more civil rights is being drowned out. No sooner had the new Attorney General William Rogers declared that the Administration would not ask for any more civil rights legislation in this session, than dour-faced Sen. Mike Mansfield of Montana, spoiled the potentialities of this as a campaign issue for his side by bluntly declaring on television that the Democrats weren' going to bother with any more civil rights.3 In Payne's article, the actions of Congressional leaders signified a resistance to create additional civil rights legislation because of the so-called progress between 1954 and 1957. During these years, the Supreme landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision was handed down outlawing school segregation and in 1957, the first Civil 32Chicago Defender, 11 January 1958, p. l. 6O Rights Act was signed since the reconstruction. In essence, Payne said, the Congress felt that blacks had enough to suffice them and they were ready to take on other matters pressing Congress. The 1957 Civil Rights Act was a step ahead and peaceful demonstrations waged by blacks to increase civil rights legislation were also advantageous to the movement. "We were not going to be set aside until Congress wanted to take up the matter again. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was inadequate and did not touch on areas to provide equal opportunities for blacks in education, employment, and housing. We still had a long way to go," Payne replied.33 During 1958 Payne requested a leave of absence to serve as a staff writer for the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education. She worked in capacity until 1962. "I wanted to learn the inside workings of the organiza- tion," she said. Between 1962 and 1964, she was assistant to the vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a consultant to the Social Security Administration. In both new jobs, Payne was stationed in Washington and occasionally submitted articles to the Defender about the legislative progress.34 33Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 34Ibid. 61 Payne returned to her position as national cor- respondent for the Defender in 1966, two years after the culmination of the revolution in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed by President Johnson. It encompassed many areas for blacks and other minorities to make equality an obtainable goal. Although the movement had not ended, the future for blacks looked brighter than it had in 1954. CHAPTER V CONCLUSION Payne represented the more than 100,000 black readers of the Defender during her years as a national correspondent. She was a link to the community and vocal proponent of civil rights Opportunities. Between 1954 and 1958 Payne provided her perspective on the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Autherine Lucy at the University of Alabama, school integration at Little Rock, the leadership of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage. She wrote about these events by including her analysis of them and straight reporting of facts in separate articles on the same subject. The civil rights movement was at its height from 1954 to 1964. It began with the Brown decision in 1954 and ended at the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.1 1Ernest Kaiser and Harry A. Ploski, eds., The Negro Almanac (New York: Bellwether Publishing Company, I967T, p. 28. 62 63 For the first four years of the movement, Payne focused on civil rights. President Eisenhower was in office during these years and his handling of civil rights issues was a major part of her writings. Payne's articles on civil rights and how racial issues were handled by the president demonstrated her ability as an observer and defender of human rights. In this chapter the researcher reveals Payne's observations of the civil rights movement during her leave of absence from the Defender. Civil Rights Under Three Presidents Payne Knew Payne's greatest contribution in covering presi- dential administrations occurred during the Eisenhower years. At that time, she embarked on her career as an observer, examiner and recorder of important civil rights events. From Payne's articles on civil rights and the way in which President Eisenhower handled problems that arose, the reader knows that he was not an initiator of civil rights legislation, but he believed in upholding the law. She made it quite clear in "A Report on the President" that the soldier-hero was not interested in pushing for civil rights. This was not only Payne's view but also a criticism shared by many blacks. After Eisenhower was in office for fifteen months, Payne created a simulated meeting of black civic leaders discussing the future of the race. She wrote: 64 Somewhere in the U.S.A. in a large city in the heart of a heavily populated Negro district, a group of leaders sat in a room. Utter silence prevailed as each man submerged himself deep within his inner thoughts in the atmosphere of gloom which hung like a shroud over the room. Silhouetted against a window in the fading twilight, his big frame sagging dejectedly, one of the group stood looking down at the looming life on the street below. "Where do we go from here?" he spoke aloud, unconsciously voicing the question in the minds of the rest. Payne's use of the mystery pronoun "he" in the lead of her article effectively characterized the feelings of those blacks who saw few gains in civil rights ahead. In her story, she delved into the flaws of the black com- munity and the positive aspects of the Eisenhower admin- istration. She cited appointments Eisenhower had made and the appointees' individual records in politics. Although the black community was uneasy about its future under the new administration, some fears were dispelled in her story. In "A Report on the President," Payne said that the Republican administration continued "its high batting average with the announcement of five new impor- tant assignments." The appointments were given to five blacks.3 Perhaps Eisenhower could be more receptive to black concerns than he had seemed at first, but Defender readers would soon be able to judge for themselves. 2Chicago Defender, 3 April 1954, p. 12. 31bid. 65 In 1955, one of Payne's articles presented another view of the administration and its progress in civil rights legislation. The headline above her story read: "Blame Ike for 'Lax Congress.'" Payne wrote that the first session of the 84th Congress had ended without passing a single piece of civil rights legislation, "although the hoppers were crammed with proposed measures, including an omnibus package sponsored by nine Democrat representatives led by Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, N.Y."4 Eisenhower, essentially, was "dragging his feet" .in the area of civil rights legislation. He said he was sworn to uphold the law, but he wasn't an initiator of legislation. As the years rolled on and the southern part of the country was unsettled by the rise of blacks Oppos- ing the old system, Eisenhower's role as upholder pre- vailed. The president's advocacy for patience had lost ground with black leaders. The waiting period had passed. In a speech to the Summit Conference of Negro Leaders, Eisenhower reiterated his View on patience. Payne reported: WASHINGTON—-President Eisenhower's speech to the Summit Conference of Negro leaders in Washington Monday was received with mixed emotions with a good many of the delegates expressing disappoint- ment at his mutual and military defense programs. 4Chicago Defender, 20 August 1955, p. l. 66 Payne's report included excerpts from his speech. One direct quOtation summed up his feelings about civil rights legislation. She reported that Eisenhower said: "We must have patience and forbearance with note and better profound education than simply depending on the letter of the law." "Enforcement of itself must not create injustice. Laws themselves will never solve problems that have roots in human rights." "In years to come, we will see ourselves equal before the law, but it will take education and better understanding to bring these things about."5 The black leaders had not anticipated this response to their civil rights problems. After three years in office, the president apparently still did not understand the plight of blacks or the importance of civil rights legis- lation. A delegate at the Summit Conference of Negro Leaders, Mrs. Edith Sampson, characterized the meeting by calling it an "insult to blacks."6 Unfortunately, Eisenhower carried out his phil- OSOphy of patience and resistance until the end of his second term. His eight years in office ended in 1961. Three years before his second term ended, Payne had broadened her career as an observer and recorder in another direction. In 1958, she had asked for a leave of absence from her duties as national correspondent to join the Democratic National Committee as staff writer 5Chicago Defender, 31 May 1958, p. 2. 6Ibid. 67 stationed in Washington, D.C. As a publicist, she expanded her observation skills to pursue and learn more about the political party which soon led the country. Even though Payne was no longer a Washington correspondent, for eight years she was stationed in the nation's capital. In a 1978 interview, Payne recalled civil rights events that occurred between 1958 and 1964. She also discussed how presidents handled these events. Payne said, "Eisenhower truly believed that legal force was not the answer. Ike dragged his feet when it came to endorsing or initiating civil rights laws. The General was satisfied to let things go on as they were. We (blacks) were not."7 Blacks continued to push for change. In February 1960, black students at Greensboro, North Carolina sat down at a racially restricted lunch counter and waited for service. They were not served. Their attempt touched off a wave of sit-ins across the United States. This form of protest had been infrequently used in the 19503. The direct action tactic of the sit-in came at the dawn of a new decade, foreshadowing the social ferment of the 19603.8 Payne said by 1960 that blacks were in search of a politi- cal candidate who would be a leader of civil rights. 7Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 8Carl M. Brauer, John F. Kennedy and the Second Reconstruction (New York: Columbia University Press, 1977), p. 7. 68 Supporters of civil rights revitalized a more sophisticated method of achieving civil rights--political pressure. Civil rights was one of the key campaign issues in the 1960 presidential election. Senator John F. Kennedy, who was the Democratic candidate for president, said that he regarded civil rights as a moral question. "Moral persuasion by the president can be more effective than force in ending discrimination," Kennedy said. He endorsed the sit-in demonstrations, calling them an encouraging sign that the American spirit was alive again. He averred that it is in the American tradition to stand up for one's rights, even if the new way is to sit down.9 Kennedy was quick to win endorsement of blacks and civil rights proponents. Payne said: His stand on civil rights was a major part of his plank in the 1960 election. While Kennedy was in the Senate, he was a lax supporter of civil rights. His view on civil rights strengthened as his hOpes for the presidency grew. Without question Kennedy was the most charismatic of any president.i0 Kennedy's term in office as president began in 1961. During the Kennedy years three significant civil rights events occurred. Just as the 1954 Brown decision precipitated action in school desegregation, so did the Supreme Court's decision in Boynton v. Virginia. In December 1960, the 9Brauer, p. 33. 101bid., p. 99. 69 Court extended its earlier prohibition of segregation on 11 The interstate buses and trains to terminal facilities. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) selected James Farmer as their new leader in 1961. Farmer used this Opportunity created by the judicial ruling to dramatize the continuing practice of segregation in southern terminals.12 The second important civil rights event during Kennedy's term was similar to the Autherine Lucy case at the University of Alabama. This case involved James H. Meredith, a 28-year-old black Air Force veteran who sought admission to the University of Mississippi. By September 1962, the federal courts clearly established Meredith's legal right to enter the university.13 Meredith graduated from the university in 1963. The third important civil rights event took place June 12, 1963. Kennedy delivered a televised address to the country. Here, the president admitted that the llBoynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454. (The Supreme Court, speaking through Justice Black, upset a Virginia conviction of Bruce Boynton, a Harvard law stu— dent, for his refusal to leave the "white" counter in a Richmond station. The Court held that as an interstate passenger, he was subjected to "undue or unreasonable treatment" under the Interstate Commerce Act when refused service at a restaurant located in a terminal which was an integral aspect of passenger service.) 12Brauer, p. 98. 13James Meredith, Three Years in Mississippi (Bloomington, Ind.: University Press, 1966), pp. 57-59. 70 country was faced with a serious crisis in race relations. This point was confirmed several hours later when Medgar Evers, NAACP leader in Mississippi, was murdered in an ambush outside his home in Jackson.14 In speaking about these important civil rights events during the Kennedy administration, Payne said that the most dramatic event was the "March on Washington." It took place August 28, 1963. On this day, 250,000 marchers (60,000 of them white) participated in the march. These petitioners for equal rights filled the mall from Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. Their plea urged support for pending civil rights legislation. The event was highlighted by the "I Have A Dream" speech by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. In an interview Payne said, "The most memorable part of that historical march was the awe- some number of people united by a common band for equality. It was something to see." Payne attended the "March on Washington" as a staff writer with the Democratic National Committee. She was seated in the press box along with reporters she worked with as a Washington correspondent. She said that those seated in the press section received a copy of each speaker's speech before they began. "It was an emotion-filled afternoon marking the turning point in everyone's future," she recalled. l4Brauer, p. 264. 71 When King began his speech he adhered to original text in the introduction. As he advanced to the third or fourth paragraph, he preached from his heart. Reporters couldn't follow the copy of the speech they had been given. It was truly a spiritual message. Payne described reporters she had previously worked with in the capital. She said, "I saw white and black veteran reporters seated near me with tears in their eyes, stream- ing down their cheeks. I had tears too."15 "The March on Washington" was the final stage of civil rights during the Kennedy years. Kennedy was assassinated November 22, 1963. Lyndon B. Johnson became the new president. Of the three presidents Payne knew, Johnson impressed her most. She said when Kennedy selected Johnson as his running mate for vice president many blacks were dissatisfied. "The stereotype of the white southerner and his poor interraction with blacks was a sore spot for those who wanted Kennedy, but not Johnson." Payne attended the Democratic National Convention and sat with colleagues in the press. She described Kennedy's selection in a 1978 interview. When Kennedy announced his choice for vice president, Payne said she and other black reporters present crossed their arms across their chest in disapproval. We did not applaud. We looked on as Johnson took the micrOphone and waited for him to speak. He addressed us and I believe that every black person 15Payne interview, September 1, 1978. 72 cringed when we heard that southern drawl, so reminiscent of the past and problems blacks had in the South. He said he realized that blacks as a whole were not pleased with the choice of a southerner for vice president, but that we would not be disappointed. We were not. As a senator, Payne said Johnson played a major role in the passage of the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts. "Even though these acts were weak and JOhnson bore a large part of the responsibility for their inade- quacy, he had changed his stance from earlier days." Payne said he was able to strengthen provisions of past civil rights acts with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "Johnson was a big man who made massive mistakes and just as massive accomplishments. I hope that history will judge him properly because in my esti- mation," Payne replied, "he did more for blacks and minorities than anyone who ever occupied the White House."17 What Ethel L. Payne Sees as Her Most Significant Contribution to Print Journalism Payne admits to being a frustrated lawyer. She visualizes herself as a defender of human rights and examiner of decisions. In essence, she performed these duties as a journalist. Her most significant contribution to the print media is contained in more than eighty civil rights reports between 1954 and 1958. 16Ihid. l71bid. 73 Payne was not an objective reporter. She was to black people what highly paid Capitol Hill lobbyists are to big business. "I always covered the story for the people, striving to give them as much as I could," Payne said. Her lack of reportorial objectivity may be criti- cized, but in this period the changing role of blacks merited insight from a black national correspondent. Human interest was an overriding element in Payne's reports. She questioned how people felt about civil rights demonstrations, legislation, Supreme Court decisions and themselves. Her mere presence in the White House press corps served as a constant reminder to white reporters and the administration that blacks were represented and expected representation. Her views of the civil rights movement permeated her reports. She provided the reader with a "scorecard" on civil rights. She assisted blacks in plotting their advancement. She also generated interest in those who were content with "customs of old." Payne said, "You cannot afford to look at civil rights problems, the conflicts and growing violence as one race's problem. It's everyone's problem."18 18Ihid. 74 A Look at Ethel Payne Today Ethel L. Payne lives in the city where she was born and raised. Her apartment is located on the near northside of Chicago, overlooking Lincoln Park. The view from her 18th floor balcony is picturesque but doesn't hold the treasured view of the interior. The apartment is like any other. It includes a kitchen, living and dining area, bathroom, bedroom and her study. Yet, the aura within her home is filled with history and memories she fondly rekindles.19 This feeling is reinforced in her library. In the middle of the room sits a manual typewriter on a portable stand. Books, manuals and notes flank the typing area. She has saved everything from her years as a correspondent (speeches, notes on her impressions at that time). The hallway leading to Payne's study and bedroom is decorated with pictures of her with presidents she has covered. And, like anyone else showing pictures in a family album, she is happy to share a short tale about the day the photo was taken. Although she reluctantly admits to it, Payne is sixty-seven years old. She served as a Washington correspondent from 1953 to 1958 and 1966 to 1973. On August 1, 1973, she became the associate editor of 19This and following information in this chapter are from the Payne interview of September 1, 1978, unless otherwise indicated. 75 Sengstacke newspapers based at the Chicago Defender. From her years of experience, she speaks from a store- house of knowledge. She is eager to share her views on the era she is so much a part. She is on a leave of absence from Sengstacke Newspapers to allot more time to her proposed book, A View of Four Presidents from a Black Perspective. The idea for this book has been with Payne throughout her career as a correspondent. The rationale for the book, she said, . . . would chronicle important events that impacted not only on the black experience in America, but on the country as a whole. The civil rights movement did not come to a halt in the 19603. Racial relations are going through constant changes. In a world of instant communi- cation, what happens in the most remote places affects us all in many ways. To Payne, her proposed book, while contemporary in char— acter, is a link to the roots of our beginning in America. A great deal of her book will deal with Lyndon B. Johnson. She plans to examine his role, first as Senate Majority leader, then as Kennedy's Vice President and finally as President. "To my mind," Payne said, "he did more for civil rights as president and for poor people than any other U.S. chief executive." Forecasting her work ahead, Payne said, "It will require diligence to adequately chronicle LBJ the man. Even though Lyndon Johnson was an ill man, he made a last effort to end the divisiveness in this country over racism," she recalled. After the presidency, "He convened a symposium at the 76 University of Texas in which he pleaded for mutual trust. Less than two months later, he was dead." Payne heard the news while visiting the PeOples Republic of China. "When the news came via short-wave radio, I felt a great sense of desolation." Her book will also include the Eisenhower admin- istration. She will begin with one of her first stories on an obscure black Pentagon file clerk who had been picked out by Senator Joseph McCarthy as an example of Communist infiltration in government. In an indirect way, the file clerk was an innocent victim of circumstance who played a part in the decline and fall of the Wisconsin senator. Payne will also review important decisions which occurred during the Eisenhower years. One segment will explore the story behind the Eisenhower appointment of Earl Warren as Chief Justice and its impact on Supreme Court decisions. The Little Rock school desegregation battle and Eisenhower's federalization of the National Guard along with sending in the 82nd Airborne Division to the school will also be re-examined by Payne. Payne came to know Richard M. Nixon during his term as Vice President to Eisenhower. She was one of a party of thirty-five reporters who traveled with Nixon and his wife to Accra, Ghana, for the independence cere— monies. Payne said, "I came to know Mr. Nixon on an 77 intimate basis, and this would be another segment in the book. Even then, he was a complex individual and his presidency proved this even more." Payne called the 1960 presidential campaign one of the roughest in United States history. "At the time," Payne noted, “I was involved with the Democratic National Committee which afforded me the opportunity to witness much of the behind-the-scenes manuevering." In Payne's storehouse of collected information on the 19503 and 19603, she said there are still "stories behind stories concerning Kennedy's intercession in the releases of Martin Luther King, Jr. from jail during civil rights demonstrations. "In the 1,000 days of the Kennedy administration, so much occurred that affected social change in this country, including the historic 'March on Washington,'" Payne noted. The book will not be the memoirs of Ethel Payne so much as it will be her perspective of presidents and issues which affected the country. In addition to researching and recording her notes for the book, she is a free-lance writer and lecturer. She is also commentator for "Matters of Opinion" on WBBM-TV, the CBS station in Chicago. Payne's profession has never given her time to be a wife. She was once engaged to be married, but the relationship ended while she was in Japan. 78 Marriage and children are among the benefits other women partake. Children would have gone neglected. Journalism, like few other professions, demands a complete personal commitment, compounded by irregu- lar working hours and little free time, which is used to pour over reports, current books and other newspapers. What Payne Would Focus on in 1978 as a Washington Correspondent In 1978 Payne would focus her attention on civil rights problems that remain unresolved in the United States. She said school desegregation is still an un- solved problem. In addition to school desegregation pro- cesses, Payne said, she would like to take a closer look at the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the effect of the Allan Bakke decision.20 "There are mixed views on the effects this decision will have on blacks and other minorities," she said. "The Bakke decision will affect all minorities in the future." 20Allan Bakke was denied admission to the Uni- versity of California Medical School in 1973 and 1974 while less qualified minority applicants were accepted under a special quota system program. The case went to the Supreme Court. Bakke argued that the quota system unfairly discriminated against whites. The court upheld Bakke last June, but at the same time said that a university may use race as a factor in making admissions. APPENDIX APPENDIX BIOGRAPHICAL DATA ON ETHEL LOIS PAYNE Special Assignments Asian-African Conference - Bandung, Indonesia, 1955. Reported from 11 other countries in Asia and Europe. Accompanied Vice President and Mrs. Nixon to the indepen- dence ceremonies at Accra, Ghana. Visited nine other countries in Africa and Europe, 1957. Spent three months in Vietnam covering Black troops, 1966-1967. Covered the World Council of Churches, Uppsala, Sweden, 1968. Spent six weeks in Nigeria covering the Civil War with emphasis on the refugees, 1969. Accompanied Secretary of State and Mrs. William Rogers on their 10-nation tour of Africa, 1970. Emergency trip to Lagos, Nigeria on Special Air Force plane to return the remains of Whitney M. Young, Jr. to the United States, March, 1971. Accompanied the official U.S. delegation to Monrovia, Liberia for the funeral of President William V. S. Tubman. Guest of the Democratic Republic of Zaire for the First Ordinary Congress of the Popular Revolution Movement, May, 1972. Apollo 17 Moon Launch, Cape Kennedy, Florida - Dec. 1972 Symposium on Civil Rights sponsored by former President Lyndon Johnson - Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, December, 1972. 79 80 Visit to the PeOples Republic of China - January, 1973. InternatiOnal Women's Year Conference, Mexico City, 1975. World Council of Churches, Nairobi, Kenya, 1975. Accompanied Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on six- nation tour of Africa - April, May, 1976. Guest of the Government of Senegal for the "Colloquium on Culture and Development," Dakar, Oct. 1976 in honor of the 70th birthday of President Leopold Senghor. Guest of the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) August, 1977. Lectures and Speaking Engagements Visiting lecturer, Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Georgia, March, 1974. Visiting lecturer under the sponsorship of the U.S. Embassy, Stockholm, Sweden, May, 1974. Commencement address, Xavier University of Louisiana at New Orleans, May, 1974. Lecturer, Defense Information School, Fort Benjamin Harri- son, Indianapolis, Indiana, May, 1974. Luncheon speaker, National Navy Officers Association, Dallas, Texas, July, 1974. Lecturer, School of Journalism, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh 1976, 1978; Suffolk Law School, Boston, Mass.; Speaker, Freedom Fund Dinner, San Diego Chapter, NAACP. Honors and Awards First Prize, Illinois Press Association for series on adoption 1952. Honorable Mention, Heywood Broun Memorial Award for series on "Industry, USA," 1953. Third Annual World Understanding Award, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations for coverage of the Asian-African Conference, 1956. 81 Citation for outstanding reporting, Windy City Press Club, Chicago, 1957. Award for Vietnam report, Capital Press Club, 1967. Excellence in Journalism Award, African Methodist Episc0pal Church Citations - National Urban League, Chicago Chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Iota Phi Lambda and Delta Sigma Theta sororities. "Media Woman of the Year" Award, National Association of Media Women. Roosevelt University, Chicago - Recipient of Freedom Award with Lillian Herstein. Affiliations Life member - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Life member, MetrOpolitan Women's Democratic Club, Washington, D.C. Honorary member, Delta Sigma Theta National Service Sorority National Urban League National Association of Media Women President, Capital Press Club, Washington, D.C., 1970-1972 Served on the Bicentennial Commission — American Issues Forum, Chicago. Member, Illinois Law Enforcement Commission Member, Chicago Crime Commission Member, National Advisory Council on Criminal Justice to the Law Enforcement Administration in the Department of Justice. SELECTED B IBLIOGRAPHY SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Baum, Willa K. Oral History. Nashville: American Associ- ation for State and Local History, 1971. Blaustein, Albert P., and Zangrando, Robert L. Civil Rights and the American Negro. New York: Trident Press, Brauer, Carl M. John F. Kennedy and the Second Recon- struction. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977. Dunnigan, Alice Allison. A Black Woman's Experience: From Schoolhouse to White House. Philadelphia: Dorrance and Company, 1974. Franklin, John Hope. From Slavery to Freedom. New York: Vintage Books, 1969. Harvey, James C. Black Civil Rights during the Johnson Administration. Jackson, Miss.:. University and College Press of Mississippi, 1973. Katz, William Loren. Eyewitness: The Negro in American History. New York: Pittman Publishing Corpor- ation, 1967. LaBrie, Henry G. Perspectives of the Black Press: 1974. Kennebunkport, Maine: Mercer House Press, 1974. McClendon, Sarah. My Eight Presidents. New York: Wyden Books, 1978. Meredith, James. Three Years in Mississippi. Bloomington, Ind.: University Press, 1966. Miller, Loren. The Petitioners: The Story of the Supreme Court and the Negro. New York: Pantheon Books, 1966. Ploski, Henry A. The Negrg_A1manac. New York: Bell- wether Company, 1967. 82 83 Shafer, Robert J. A Guide to Historical Method. Home- wood, Ill.: The Dorsey Press, 1974. Westin, Alex F., ed. Freedom Now: The Civil Rights Struggle in America. New York: Basic Books, 1964. Wolseley, Roland E. The Black Press, U.S.A. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1971. Periodicals Ashmore, Harry S. "The Easy Chair: The Untold Story Behind Little Rock." Harpers Magazine, June 1958, pp. 10-19. Mitchell, Grayson. "Ethel Payne." Essence, March 1974, pp. 66, 93—96. Rivers, William L. "Washington I: The Correspondents after 25 Years." Columbia Journalism Review, Spring 1962, pp. 4-10. Newspapers Chicago Defender, 28 November 1953; 4 December 1954; 13, 20 February 1954; 3 April 1954; 22, 29 May 1954; 2, 17, 24 July 1955; 20 August 1955; 4, 10, 18 February 1956; 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 April 1956; 5, 12, 19, 26 May 1956; 30 June 1956; 19 January 1957; 13, 27 April 1957; 25 May 1957; 7, 21 Sep- tember 1957; 11 January 1958; 31 May 1958. Washington Evening Star, 7 July 1954. Interviews Payne, Ethel L. Chicago, Illinois. 12 August 1978. . Chicago, Illinois. 1 September 1978. Documents U.S. President Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, 1954-1959. Dwight D. Eisenhower. 84 U.S. Supreme Court. Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954). . Boynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 (1959). . Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). General References Ashmore, Harry S. The Negro and the Schools. 2d ed. Revised. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1954. Berman, Daniel M. Civil Rights Act of 1960. New York: Macmillan, 1962. Gottschalk, Louis. Understanding History. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1969. Harvey, James C. Civil Rights during the Kennedy Admin- istration. Hattiesburg, Miss.: University and College Press of Mississippi, 1971. Hiebert, Ray Heldon. The Press in Washington. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1966. Lewis, Anthony, ed. Portrait of a Decade: The Second American Revolution. New York: Random House, 1965. Lomax, Louis E. The Negro Revolt. New York: New Ameri- can Library, 1963. Marbut, F. B. News from the Capital. Carbondale and Edwardsville, 111.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1971. HICHIGQN STATE UNIV . LIBRRR IES llllllllllllllll ll lllll llllllllll llll lllllll llllllll 31293100635246