Description
Book SynopsisBurning Crosses and Activist Journalism: Hazel Brannon Smith and the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement celebrates the contributions of the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing (1964). Owner and publisher of four weekly newspapers in Mississippi, Smith began her journalism career as a states rights Dixiecrat and segregationist, but became an icon for progressive thought on racial and ethnic issues. Though befriended by editors such as Hodding Carter Jr. and Ira B. Harkey Jr., Smith was a target of the White Citizens'' Council and was boycotted by advertisers. During the civil rights movement, a cross was burned in her yard and one of her newspaper offices was firebombed. Before her death in 1994, she endured foreclosure, memory loss, and public humiliation, but she never lost faith in journalism or in the power of informed debate.
Trade ReviewIs an interesting read. Whitt's inclusion of race issues as portrayed in Southern literature impacts depth and understanding to the racial climate of the time and should interest students of Southern literature. * American Journalism: A Media History Journal, Spring 2010 *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: The American South in Literature and Popular Culture Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 Acknowledgements Chapter 4 Chapter 1: The Unlikely Heroism of Hazel Brannon Smith Chapter 5 Chapter 2: Hazel Brannon Smith and Editor Ira B. Harkey Jr. Chapter 6 Chapter 3: White Hate Groups and Mississippi Newspapers Chapter 7 Chapter 4: White Civil Rights Editors and Hazel Brannon Smith Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Racial Issues in Southern Literature and Journalism Chapter 9 Conclusion: The Legacy of Civil Rights Journalism Chapter 10 Works Cited Chapter 11 Index Chapter 12 About the Author
