L. Alex Wilson (March 30, 1909–October 11, 1960) was an American journalist and editor who rose to prominence during the civil rights movement. He covered the

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African American youth, who was 14 years old when he was abducted and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman, ...

murder for the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

-oriented ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' chain, while serving as the editor of the Memphis-based ''

Tri-State Defender The ''Tri-State Defender'' is a weekly newspaper, weekly African-American newspaper serving Memphis, Tennessee, and the nearby areas of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. It bills itself as "The Mid-South's Best Alternative Newspaper". The ''D ...

''. In 1957, Wilson was covering the federally enforced integration of Central High School by the

Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering th ...

when a white mob assaulted him and two other Black journalists. He survived, continuing as an editor in Chicago, but died three years later from neurological damage caused by the violent segregationists in Little Rock.

Biography

Lucious Alexander Wilson was the editor and general manager of the ''

'', an

African-American newspaper African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

published in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. The ''Tri-State'' ''Defender'' was then part of the influential ''

'' chain. In 1950, Wilson went overseas for the ''Chicago Defender'' to report on African-American soldiers and sailors in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. In 1955, Wilson led the ''Defender''-chain's coverage of the

lynching, a catalyst for the civil rights movement. One of the people he hired at the ''Tri-State Defender'' was Dorothy Butler Gilliam. Wilson gained national attention when television images of him being beaten by a White mob were broadcast during his coverage of

school desegregation In the United States, school integration (also known as desegregation) is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public, and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and ...

by the

, who were finally entering

Little Rock Central High School Little Rock Central High School (LRCH) is an accredited comprehensive education, comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, Secondary education in the United States, United States. The school was the Little ...

on September 23, 1957. Wilson, a highly visible presence at 6'3", and two other Black reporters arrived before the Black students. When they stepped out of the car they were in, the racist mob started to attacked them. Wilson decided to walk, not run, away. After having been confronted by members of the KKK when he was younger and fleeing, he decided he would never run from racism ever again. A member of the mob jumped on his back and started choking him, and another one hit him in the head with a brick. Wilson returned to Chicago to become editor of ''

The Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'', but he died at 51, from Parkinson's disease exacerbated by the assault in Little Rock.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, L. Alex 1960 deaths African-American journalists 1909 births Little Rock Nine

Biography

Further reading

References