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 teachers taught African American history that did not appear in the official textbooks. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_001_003, TRT: 0:29:33 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett discusses the African American community's historical support for education. He talks about the desperate hunger for education of people for whom it had been illegal, and relates a story of his own grandmother, an ex-slave who learned to read by stealth. Jarrett talks about the strong support from the black community for the education of its youth when he was growing up in Paris, Tennessee; he stresses the need to replicate some of that kind of support for the youth of today and tells about a new program he has started, called 'Freedom Readers', to encourage kids to read and to learn black history. Jarrett also tells some anecdotes from his youth, including a lesson from a former slave about respect for black women. Finally he recalls his years during World War Two, working in an Alcoa plant and then joining the Navy; he was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station and he describes his enjoyment of exploring Bronzeville and the Loop during weekend trips to Chicago. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_002_004, TRT: 0:30:21 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett talks about the importance of role models and mentors to promote scholarship in African American young people, and he recalls the influence of Vivian G. Harsh, Chicago's first African American librarian, and also describes a meeting with W.E.B. DuBois. Jarrett discusses his youthful ambition to become a writer and his move to Chicago after World War II. He looks back at the huge importance of Joe Louis to the black community and links radio purchases by African Americans to the popularity of the broadcasts of Louis's fights. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_002_005, TRT: 0:30:20 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett talks about the influence of radio and black newspapers on African Americans during his youth. He discusses the virulent racism and horrific lynchings prevalent in the South in the first decades of the twentieth century, and recalls meeting more racism in the North, when one of his first assignments for the Chicago Defender was covering the 1946 'race riots' by whites opposed to integrated housing in Chicago's Airport Homes. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_002_006, TRT: 0:31:08 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett talks in detail about his experiences of Chicago as a reporter for the Chicago Defender during the late 1940s and 1950s -- focusing on black politicians and the start of an independent movement, black theater and radio plays, black baseball players, the over-crowded, poor housing conditions in the black "ghetto" caused by restrictive covenants and the construction of the public housing high-rise buildings. He also discusses the dangers the NAACP faced in trying to organize in his home state of Tennessee during the 1940s and 1950s. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_002_007, TRT: 0:29:09 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett talks about his radio work with Oscar Brown, Jr. in Chicago in the late 1940s to early 1950s; his sojourn as a brewery representative in Kansas City, where he mingled with the "lower class" blacks and frequented jazz clubs; his return to Chicago in 1960 and his work for the Community Conservation Commission, including a controversial speech he gave on restrictive covenants; the program WLS-TV put on to discourage riots after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination; the regular television show he produced on WLS starting in 1968; his work teaching black history at Chicago-area universities; and being hired as the Chicago Tribune's first black columnist in 1970. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_002_008, TRT: 0:31:15 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett talks about his political involvement, especially his role in the election of Harold Washington as Chicago's first black mayor in 1983. He urges he vital importance of community support for academic achievement in black children and youth, and he tells of some of his own efforts in this area, including individual mentoring as well as the organizations he has founded, ACTSO (Academic Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) and the Freedom Readers, a new program to encourage kids to read and learn African American history and literature. Video Oral History Interview with Vernon Jarrett, Section A2000_028_002_009, TRT: 0:10:22 2000/02/10 Journalist and activist Vernon Jarrett discusses his agnosticism and his thoughts about religion, the discouraging issues of AIDS, war and dictators in Africa, and his continuing commitment to the advancement of the black race and to the fight against all oppression and exploitation.