Evelyn Cunningham: Difference between revisions
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|1|25}} |
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|1|25}} |
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| birth_place = [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina]], {{nowrap|United States}}<ref name=answers>http://www.answers.com/topic/evelyn-cunningham</ref> |
| birth_place = [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina]], {{nowrap|United States}}<ref name=answers>{{Cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/evelyn-cunningham|title = Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions| website=[[Answers.com]] }}</ref> |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|04|28|1916|01|25}}<ref name=answers /> |
| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|04|28|1916|01|25}}<ref name=answers /> |
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| death_place = [[Manhattan, New York]], {{nowrap|United States}} |
| death_place = [[Manhattan, New York]], {{nowrap|United States}} |
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| nationality = American |
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| other_names = "Big East"; "The Lynching Editor" |
| other_names = "Big East"; "The Lynching Editor" |
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| known_for = Civil rights reporting |
| known_for = Civil rights reporting |
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'''Evelyn Cunningham''' (January 25, 1916 – April 28, 2010) was an American journalist and aide to [[Nelson Rockefeller]].<ref name=nytimes>The Associated Press, "Evelyn Cunningham, Journalist and Aide, Dies at 94", ''The New York Times'', April 29, 2010, [ |
'''Evelyn Cunningham''' (January 25, 1916 – April 28, 2010) was an American journalist and aide to [[Nelson Rockefeller]].<ref name=nytimes>The Associated Press, "Evelyn Cunningham, Journalist and Aide, Dies at 94", ''The New York Times'', April 29, 2010, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/obituaries/29cunningham.html available online.]</ref> Cunningham covered the early [[American civil rights movement|civil rights movement]] and was a reporter and editor for the ''[[Pittsburgh Courier]]''. She and the paper's staff were awarded the [[George Polk Award]] in 1998 for their coverage.<ref name=nytimes /> |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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==''Pittsburgh Courier''== |
==''Pittsburgh Courier''== |
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The largest [[Black American|black]] newsweekly at the time,<ref name=answers /> the ''[[Pittsburgh Courier]]'' was an influential presence during and in the years preceding the civil rights movement. Cunningham joined the Courier in 1940<ref name="nydailynews">Clem Richardson, "Well-versed journalist Evelyn Cunningham writing piece on 'unknown black history'", ''New York Daily News'', November |
The largest [[Black American|black]] newsweekly at the time,<ref name=answers /> the ''[[Pittsburgh Courier]]'' was an influential presence during and in the years preceding the civil rights movement. Cunningham joined the ''Courier'' in 1940<ref name="nydailynews">Clem Richardson, [https://web.archive.org/web/20091125211955/http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/11/23/2009-11-23_on_scene_from_bull_connor_to_obama.html "Well-versed journalist Evelyn Cunningham writing piece on 'unknown black history'"], ''New York Daily News'', November 23, 2009.</ref> working from the [[Harlem]] office at 125th street. She earned the nickname the "lynching editor" due to her extensive coverage of [[lynching]]s in the deep south.<ref name=nytimes /> While at the ''Courier'' she attempted to interview [[Eugene Connor|Bull Connor]], in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], but he denied her, with a racial epithet.<ref name=answers /><ref name=nytimes /> |
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She also met with a number of civil rights leaders, including [[Martin Luther King |
She also met with a number of civil rights leaders, including [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Malcolm X]]. Cunningham wrote a three-part series on the King family from those meetings. She often worked with Thurgood Marshall, covering the cases he defended. One evening, an after hours club they were attending in Harlem was raided. "[She] accosted a cop she knew, telling him, "You can't arrest this man. He is very, very important, he's with the NAACP, you've got to let him go." King, Devil in the Grove, pg. 41. |
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==Work as |
==Work as political aide; later career== |
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After leaving the ''Courier'', in 1962, Cunningham hosted a radio show of her own on [[WLIB]] in New York. She then joined [[Nelson Rockefeller]] in 1965 as a special assistant to the then governor. She maintained this title in Washington [[Nelson Rockefeller#Vice |
After leaving the ''Courier'', in 1962, Cunningham hosted a radio show of her own on [[WLIB]] in New York. She then joined [[Nelson Rockefeller]] in 1965 as a special assistant to the then governor. She maintained this title in Washington [[Nelson Rockefeller#Vice presidency (1974–1977)|during his vice presidency]]. She also served on [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]'s [[White House Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities|Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities]].<ref name="nydailynews" /> |
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In 1970, Cunningham was one of the founders of the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, a non-profit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of black women "and their families through implementing initiatives and services to address important social, political, economical [and] cultural issues." |
In 1970, Cunningham was one of the founders of the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, a non-profit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of black women "and their families through implementing initiatives and services to address important social, political, economical [and] cultural issues."<ref>[http://www.visionaryproject.org/cunninghamevelyn "Evelyn Cunningham, National Visionary"], National Visionary Leadership Project.</ref> |
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In the 2000s, Cunningham was appointed to the New York City Commission on Women's Issues by [[Michael Bloomberg]]. |
In the 2000s, Cunningham was appointed to the New York City Commission on Women's Issues by [[Michael Bloomberg]]. |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Tall—almost six feet tall in heels—and with red hair, Cunningham was called "Big East," referring both to her height and her [[New York City]] background. A dedicated career woman who once expressed the opinion that "marriage isn't much good for a career woman",<ref>Joyce Wadler, |
Tall—almost six feet tall in heels—and with red hair, Cunningham was called "Big East," referring both to her height and her [[New York City]] background. A dedicated career woman who once expressed the opinion that "marriage isn't much good for a career woman",<ref>Joyce Wadler, "Public Lives: Still Fighting the Battle of the Sexes," ''New York Times,'' April 15, 1998.</ref> nevertheless she married four times.<ref name=nytimes /> Her last marriage was to Austin H. Brown, who died in 2003. A [[Juilliard]]-trained [[pianist]], he was also the first African-American master watchmaker in New York's [[Diamond District]].<ref name=nytimes /> |
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She had one brother, Clyde Whitehurst Long, who died in 1973, leaving a daughter, |
She had one brother, Clyde Whitehurst Long, who died in 1973, leaving a daughter, whom Evelyn raised. She also had two step-daughters from Austin's previous marriage, which also gave her two grandchildren. |
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She also had two step-daughters from Austin's previous marriage which also gave her 2 grandchildren. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.afgw.libraries.psu.edu/profiles/cunningham.html A Few Good Women... Evelyn Cunningham] |
*[http://www.afgw.libraries.psu.edu/profiles/cunningham.html A Few Good Women... Evelyn Cunningham] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724021848/http://afgw.libraries.psu.edu/profiles/cunningham.html |date=2011-07-24 }} |
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*[http://www.visionaryproject.org/cunninghamevelyn/ Evelyn Cunningham National Visionary] |
*[http://www.visionaryproject.org/cunninghamevelyn/ Evelyn Cunningham National Visionary] |
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{{Authority control |
{{Authority control}} |
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{{Persondata |
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| NAME = Cunningham, Evelyn |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American journalist |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = January 25, 1916 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Elizabeth City, North Carolina]], |
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| DATE OF DEATH = April 28, 2010 |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Manhattan, New York]], |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Evelyn}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Evelyn}} |
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[[Category:1916 births]] |
[[Category:1916 births]] |
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[[Category:2010 deaths]] |
[[Category:2010 deaths]] |
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[[Category:People from |
[[Category:People from Elizabeth City, North Carolina]] |
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[[Category:African-American journalists]] |
[[Category:African-American journalists]] |
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[[Category:American women journalists]] |
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[[Category:African-American women writers]] |
[[Category:African-American women writers]] |
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[[Category:20th-century African-American writers]] |
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[[Category:Long Island University alumni]] |
[[Category:Long Island University alumni]] |
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[[Category:American women non-fiction writers]] |
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[[Category:21st-century African-American people]] |
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[[Category:20th-century African-American women]] |
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[[Category:21st-century African-American women]] |
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Latest revision as of 23:20, 18 June 2024
Evelyn Cunningham | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 25, 1916 |
| Died | April 28, 2010 (aged 94)[1] Manhattan, New York, United States |
| Other names | "Big East"; "The Lynching Editor" |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Civil rights reporting |
Evelyn Cunningham (January 25, 1916 – April 28, 2010) was an American journalist and aide to Nelson Rockefeller.[2] Cunningham covered the early civil rights movement and was a reporter and editor for the Pittsburgh Courier. She and the paper's staff were awarded the George Polk Award in 1998 for their coverage.[2]
Early life
[edit]Evelyn Cunningham was born Evelyn Elizabeth Long in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, one of two children of a taxicab driver and a dressmaker. The family moved to New York City when Evelyn was a child; she was educated in city schools and graduated from Hunter College High School in 1934 and from Long Island University in 1943, earning a bachelor's degree.[2]
Pittsburgh Courier
[edit]The largest black newsweekly at the time,[1] the Pittsburgh Courier was an influential presence during and in the years preceding the civil rights movement. Cunningham joined the Courier in 1940[3] working from the Harlem office at 125th street. She earned the nickname the "lynching editor" due to her extensive coverage of lynchings in the deep south.[2] While at the Courier she attempted to interview Bull Connor, in Birmingham, Alabama, but he denied her, with a racial epithet.[1][2]
She also met with a number of civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Cunningham wrote a three-part series on the King family from those meetings. She often worked with Thurgood Marshall, covering the cases he defended. One evening, an after hours club they were attending in Harlem was raided. "[She] accosted a cop she knew, telling him, "You can't arrest this man. He is very, very important, he's with the NAACP, you've got to let him go." King, Devil in the Grove, pg. 41.
Work as political aide; later career
[edit]After leaving the Courier, in 1962, Cunningham hosted a radio show of her own on WLIB in New York. She then joined Nelson Rockefeller in 1965 as a special assistant to the then governor. She maintained this title in Washington during his vice presidency. She also served on Nixon's Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities.[3]
In 1970, Cunningham was one of the founders of the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, a non-profit organization dedicated to bettering the lives of black women "and their families through implementing initiatives and services to address important social, political, economical [and] cultural issues."[4]
In the 2000s, Cunningham was appointed to the New York City Commission on Women's Issues by Michael Bloomberg.
Personal life
[edit]Tall—almost six feet tall in heels—and with red hair, Cunningham was called "Big East," referring both to her height and her New York City background. A dedicated career woman who once expressed the opinion that "marriage isn't much good for a career woman",[5] nevertheless she married four times.[2] Her last marriage was to Austin H. Brown, who died in 2003. A Juilliard-trained pianist, he was also the first African-American master watchmaker in New York's Diamond District.[2]
She had one brother, Clyde Whitehurst Long, who died in 1973, leaving a daughter, whom Evelyn raised. She also had two step-daughters from Austin's previous marriage, which also gave her two grandchildren.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g The Associated Press, "Evelyn Cunningham, Journalist and Aide, Dies at 94", The New York Times, April 29, 2010, available online.
- ^ a b Clem Richardson, "Well-versed journalist Evelyn Cunningham writing piece on 'unknown black history'", New York Daily News, November 23, 2009.
- ^ "Evelyn Cunningham, National Visionary", National Visionary Leadership Project.
- ^ Joyce Wadler, "Public Lives: Still Fighting the Battle of the Sexes," New York Times, April 15, 1998.
External links
[edit]- A Few Good Women... Evelyn Cunningham Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
- Evelyn Cunningham National Visionary
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1916 births
- 2010 deaths
- People from Elizabeth City, North Carolina
- African-American journalists
- American women journalists
- African-American women writers
- 20th-century African-American writers
- Long Island University alumni
- American women non-fiction writers
- 21st-century African-American people
- 20th-century African-American women
- 21st-century African-American women