Panel discusses first-hand experiences of Civil Rights movement reporting

Thursday evening, Carroll Hall auditorium became a sanctuary to talk about race, a subject which is usually avoided.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication hosted a discussion entitled “The Race Beat: History and Legacy,” in which a panel talked about reporting on the Civil Rights movement.

The panel was moderated by Hank Klibanoff, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Race Beat.”

Event organizer Louise Spieler said the crowd benefitted from the talk, even if it didn’t cover current issues.

“Fifty years away from that period, it’s good to hear firsthand accounts,” she said.

Panelists included Gene Roberts, co-author of “The Race Beat”; Hodding Carter, professor of public policy and former editor of the Delta Democrat Times; Joe Cumming, former Atlanta bureau chief for Newsweek; and Moses Newson, former executive editor of the Baltimore Afro-American and former reporter at the Tri-State Defender in Memphis, Tenn.

Even though these men witnessed the civil rights movement firsthand, Klibanoff said they all once doubted segregation would end.

“Even open, progessive-minded people thought discrimination would never end,” Klibanoff said.

“For every reporter, there was a point each one saw an opportunity for change.”

For Roberts, that moment came in February 1960, while he was working for the (Raleigh) News & Observer. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to speak at a church in Raleigh and Roberts was assigned to cover it, he said.

At the end of the speech, there was a pan passed around for change. He said that for many black women, money was so tight they put change in their handkerchiefs and rattled it every once in a while to make sure they had not lost any.

Roberts said that, when asked to contribute, the women un-knotted their handkerchiefs and gave some coins.

“Up until that night I had not thought I would see racial change in the South,” Roberts said.

Sometimes, just being there made the difference, Klibanoff said.

Newson said he worked for two black newspapers.

“Our mission was to do something to improve race relations in the country,” he said.

Even when laws changed, some whites continued to enforce segregation.

When Newson reported at Hoxie High School in Arkansas the day after it desegregated, he said it was the first time media was allowed at the school. Police ultimately stopped him, saying his presence would cause trouble.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.