Reed Sarratt (1917-1986) was an American journalist and editor from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He wrote about school desegregation in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. He served as the executive director of the Southern Education Reporting Service from 1960 to 1965, and the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association from 1973 to 1986.

Early life

Alexander Reed Sarratt, Jr. was born on September 17, 1917, in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. His father was Alexander R. Sarratt and his mother, Joncie Elizabeth Hutchinson. He graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 1937, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics. While he was at UNC, he was also the managing editor of ''

The Daily Tar Heel ''The Daily Tar Heel'' (''DTH'') is the independent student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded on February 23, 1893, and became a daily newspaper in 1929. The paper places a focus on university news and ...

'', the campus newspaper, in 1936–1937. He was also a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

society.

Career

Sarratt started his career as a journalist for '' The Blowing Rocket''. Shortly after, he became a reporter for '' The Charlotte News''. He was an editorial writer for the '' Baltimore Evening Sun'' from 1946 to 1952. From 1952 to 1960, he was an editor for the '' Winston-Salem Journal'' and the '' Twin City Sentinel''. Sarratt served as the executive director of the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

-funded Southern Education Reporting Service in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

from 1960 to 1965, where he tracked school desegregation in the South. He then worked for the

Southern Regional Education Board The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, that works to improve education at every level in its 16 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, M ...

in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1965 to 1968. Meanwhile, he wrote a book about segregation in 1966. He also edited a book about

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

s and another one on journalistic education. Sarratt served as the Head of the Southern Newspaper Publishers' Association Foundation from 1969 to 1973, and as the executive director of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association from 1973 to 1986. Sarratt was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame in 1985.

Personal life

He married Elva Ann Ranson. They had two sons, Alexander Reed III, John Lester, and a daughter, Ann Ranson He was a member of the Democratic Party and the Presbyterian Church.

Death and legacy

Sarratt died on March 15, 1986. The Reed Sarratt Lecture Series at the UNC School of Media and Journalism is named in his honor. His papers are preserved at the Louis Round Wilson Library on the UNC campus.

Works

*''The Ordeal of Desegregation: The First Decade'' (1966). *''The Impact of the Computer on Society'' (editor, 1966). *''Education for Newspaper Work'' (editor, 1973).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarratt, Reed 1917 births 1986 deaths Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni 20th-century American journalists American male journalists School desegregation pioneers American civil rights activists American anti-racism activists Activists from North Carolina