“The cross was burned on my lawn this time. Next time it could be yours.” wrote 1964 Pulitzer Prize winner, Hazel Brannon Smith.1 On Halloween night in 1960, Smith went outside after hearing a loud popping sound. What she found was a group of teenage boys running away, a burning cross in her yard, and a Chevrolet station wagon that was left behind. She removed the car tag and later found that the car belonged to the local prosecuting attorney, Pat Barrett, whose son was suspected in taking part in the cross burning. This was just one instance where a journalist was threatened during the Civil Rights Movement for supporting and defending blacks. This unethical treatment of these journalists did not stop them from continuing to voice their opinion …show more content…
This would go on for another fourteen months before the lynching of Emmitt Till took place. News coverage on Emmitt Till proved to be some of the most ethical and unethical coverage used at the same time covering the same story. Many newspapers were posting photos of Till’s distorted body in their articles as his photo. This was unethical on many levels especially since the photo was being plastered to not bring awareness but to embarrass and humiliate not only the Till family but the entire African American race. The exposure of this graphic photograph was quickly countered by Jet Magazine and The Chicago Defender by posting a picture of Till in a shirt and tie beside the gruesome photo to bring light to the person of who he really was. Numerous articles depicted Till as a disrespectful negro that offended a white woman and got what was coming to him. Though there were many that took that unethical stance but this was the first time in history that we saw the newspapers and journalists demand that something be done in support of black. The famous headline, “NATION SHOCKED, VOW ACTION IN LYNCHING OF CHICAGO YOUTH” was one that led to everyone waiting on a response from President …show more content…
Harkey is best known for his book The Smell of Burning Crosses: A White Integrationist in Mississippi. He, like Smith, won the Pulitzer Prize (1963) but for his anti-segregation editorials and for his writings that helped lead to the admittance of James Meredith to the University of Mississippi. He served as editor and publisher of Pascagoula’s Chronicle-Star during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The paper, oftentimes, was the only paper that would blatantly be in opposition of Governor Ross Barnett. His focus was on desegregation and equal rights for blacks, which are both two things that the governor was completely against. Though he received multiple threats and lost many friends and family members along the way, Harkey was a journalist that published ethical stories and articles throughout his career. “I know where I’m from and what I’m supposed to believe in but I know that it’s not right,” said Harkley in an interview with the Mississippi Press in 2003.