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Finding Aid to the Historymakers ® Video Oral History with Vernon Jarrett

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Finding Aid to the Historymakers ® Video Oral History with Vernon Jarrett Finding Aid to The HistoryMakers ® Video Oral History with Vernon Jarrett Overview of the Collection Repository: The HistoryMakers®1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60616 [email protected] www.thehistorymakers.com Creator: Jarrett, Vernon, 1921- Title: The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Dates: February 10, 2000 and June 27, 2000 Bulk Dates: 2000 Physical 9 Betacame SP videocasettes (4:13:38). Description: Abstract: Newspaper columnist, television host, and radio host Vernon Jarrett (1918 - 2004 ) was one of the nation's most prominent commentators on race relations and African American history within the United States. Jarrett wrote for the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as the Chicago Defender. Jarrett also worked extensively in radio and television including broadcasting his own show called The Jarrett Journal on WVON-AM, Chicago's only African American-owned radio station. Jarrett was interviewed by The HistoryMakers® on February 10, 2000 and June 27, 2000, in New York, New York. This collection is comprised of the original video footage of the interview. Identification: A2000_028 Language: The interview and records are in English. Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers® Born on June 19, 1918, in Tennessee, Vernon Jarrett was one of the nation's most prominent commentators on race relations and African American history within the United States. Newspaper, television and radio broadcasts have all been the United States. Newspaper, television and radio broadcasts have all been forums for his insights. Jarrett began his journalism career at the Chicago Defender,/i> during the 1940's and later worked for the Associated Negro Press before making the transition to radio in 1948. For the next three years, Jarrett and composer Oscar Brown, Jr. produced "Negro Newsfront", the nation's first daily radio newscast created by African Americans. In 1970, Jarrett became the first African American syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune. He used his editorial voice as a forum for commentary on the social and economic trends affecting African Americans, as well as the global concerns of pan-African politics. During this period, Jarrett served as host on Chicago's WLS-ABC TV, where he produced nearly two thousand television broadcasts. In 1983, Jarrett left the Tribune and began writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, where he continued his tradition of political and social commentary, which has always been firmly grounded in the African American experience. In 1977, Jarrett created the NAACP-sponsored ACT-SO program. An acronym for "Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics", ACT-SO is an enrichment program for exceptional African American students nationwide. Through the program, over $1,000,000 in computers, scholarships and books have been awarded to top-ranking students, who are recognized and honored each year during ACT-SO's national television special. To date, hundreds of students across the United States have participated in the annual event. Jarrett also became a columnist for the New York Times' New American News Syndicate and his social commentary could be heard during "The Jarrett Journal", a news show broadcast on WVON-AM, Chicago's only African American-owned radio station. He was also a member of the editorial board of the NAACP's ninety year-old magazine, The Crisis, which was created by W. E. B. Du Bois. Jarrett's outstanding journalistic efforts have earned him numerous honors and awards, including his being the first recipient of the NAACP's James Weldon Johnson Achievement Award and his 1998 induction into the National Literary Hall of Fame at the University of Chicago's Gwendolyn Brooks Center. Jarrett passed away on May 23, 2004. Scope and Content This life oral history interview with Vernon Jarrett was conducted by Julieanna L. Richardson on February 10, 2000 and June 27, 2000, in New York, New York, and was recorded on 9 Betacame SP videocasettes. Newspaper columnist, television host, and radio host Vernon Jarrett (1918 - 2004 ) was one of the nation's most host, and radio host Vernon Jarrett (1918 - 2004 ) was one of the nation's most prominent commentators on race relations and African American history within the United States. Jarrett wrote for the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as the Chicago Defender. Jarrett also worked extensively in radio and television including broadcasting his own show called The Jarrett Journal on WVON-AM, Chicago's only African American-owned radio station. Restrictions Restrictions on Access Restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of The HistoryMakers®. Restrictions on Use All use of materials and use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Appropriate credit must be given. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®. Related Material Information about the administrative functions involved in scheduling, researching, and producing the interview, as well as correspondence with the interview subject is stored electronically both on The HistoryMakers® server and in two databases maintained by The HistoryMakers®, though this information is not included in this finding aid. Controlled Access Terms This interview collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms. Persons: Jarrett, Vernon, 1921- Richardson, Julieanna L. (Interviewer) Hickey, Matthew (Videographer) Subjects: African Americans--Interviews Jarrett, Vernon, 1921---Interviews African American journalists--Illinois--Chicago--Interviews. African American radio broadcasters--Illinois--Chicago--Interviews. African American television journalists--Illinois--Chicago--Interviews. Newspaper employees--Illinois--Chicago--Interviews. Paris (Tenn.)--Social life and customs. Education--Tennessee--History. African American History Month. Community and school--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives. Mentoring. Harsh, Vivian G. Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963. Race riots--Illinois. Lynching--History. Racism--Illinois--Chicago. Chicago (Ill.)--Social life and customs. Chicago (Ill.)Social conditions. Brown, Oscar. Agnostics--Interviews. Organizations: HistoryMakers® (Video oral history collection) The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection Chicago tribune Chicago Defender Chicago Sun Times WLS-TV (Television station : Chicago, Ill.) Occupations: Newspaper Columnist Television Host Radio Host HistoryMakers® Category: MediaMakers Administrative Information Custodial History Interview footage was recorded by The HistoryMakers®. All rights to the interview have been transferred to The HistoryMakers® by the interview subject through a signed interview release form. Signed interview release forms have been deposited with Jenner & Block, LLP, Chicago. Preferred Citation The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, February 10, 2000 and June 27, 2000. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Processing Information This interview collection was processed and encoded on 2/5/2020 by The HistoryMakers® staff. The finding aid was created adhering to the following standards: DACS, AACR2, and the Oral History Cataloging Manual (Matters 1995). Other Finding Aid A Microsoft Access contact database and a FileMaker Pro tracking database, both maintained by The HistoryMakers®, keep track of the administrative functions involved in scheduling, researching, and producing the interview. Detailed Description of the Collection Series I: Original Interview Footage Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_001_001, TRT: 0:30:30 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett remembers his childhood in the small town of Paris, Tennessee, raised by parents who were both teachers in segregated black parents who were both teachers in segregated black schools and inspired him with a love of learning and language. He recalls the strong solidarity of the black community, and he discusses how isolated rural and semi- rural African Americans became linked through newspapers, radio, civil rights organizations, church conferences and admiration of black celebrities like Joe Louis. African American journalists--Illinois--Chicago-- Interviews. African American radio broadcasters--Illinois--Chicago-- Interviews. African American television journalists--Illinois-- Chicago--Interviews. Newspaper employees--Illinois--Chicago--Interviews. Paris (Tenn.)--Social life and customs. Education--Tennessee--History. Black History Week. Community and school--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives. Mentoring. Harsh, Vivian G. Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868- 1963. Race riots--Illinois. Lynching--History. Racism--Illinois--Chicago. Chicago (Ill.)--Social life and customs. Chicago (Ill.)--Social conditions. Brown, Oscar. Agnostics--Interviews. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_001_002, TRT: 0:31:00 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett recalls his elementary and secondary education in small towns in Tennessee during the 1920s and 1930s, emphasizing the great support for education in Southern black communities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and the the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and the sense of being a "son of the community, not just my parents." He discusses the great impact of Negro History Week and other occasions when dedicated
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