Ralph McGill | |
|---|---|
 Ralph McGill portrait by Robert Templeton, 1984 | |
| Peabody AwardBoard of Jurors | |
| In office 1945–1968 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1898-02-05)February 5, 1898 near,Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | February 3, 1969(1969-02-03) (aged 70) |
| Resting place | Westview Cemetery |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Ralph Emerson McGill (February 5, 1898 – February 3, 1969) was an American journalist and editorialist. Ananti-segregationisteditor, he published theAtlanta Constitution newspaper. He was a member of thePeabody AwardsBoard of Jurors, serving from 1945 to 1968.[1] He won aPulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1959.
McGill was born February 5, 1898, nearSoddy-Daisy, Tennessee. He attended school atThe McCallie School inChattanooga, Tennessee andVanderbilt University inNashville, Tennessee, but did not graduate from Vanderbilt because he was suspended his senior year for writing an article in the student newspaper critical of the school's administration. McGill served in theMarine Corps duringWorld War I.[2]
After the war, McGill got a job working for the sports department of theNashville Banner and soon worked his way up to sports editor. In 1929, he moved toAtlanta, Georgia to become the assistant sports editor ofThe Atlanta Constitution. Wanting to move from sports to more serious news, he got an assignment to cover the firstCuban Revolt in 1933. He also applied for and was granted aRosenwald Fellowship in 1938, which allowed him to cover theNazi takeover ofAustria in 1938.[3] These articles earned him a spot as executive editor of theConstitution, which he used to highlight the effects of segregation.[3] In response, many angry readers sent threats and letters to McGill. Some acted on the threats and burned crosses at night on his front lawn, fired bullets into the windows of his home and left crude bombs in his mailbox.[4]
In the late 1950s, McGill became asyndicated columnist, reaching a national audience. In 1960, McGill was the only editor of a major white southern paper to cover thepassive resistance tactics used by the students involved in theGreensboro sit-ins, although eventually other papers followed his lead.[3] He became friends with PresidentsJohn F. Kennedy andLyndon Johnson, acting as a civil rights advisor and behind the scenes envoy to several African nations.
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, McGill received theElijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honoraryDoctor of Laws degree from dozens of universities and colleges, including Harvard, and thePresidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.[2] In 1963 he published his bookThe South and the Southerner as well as several anthologies of his newspaper articles. McGill died of aheart attack two days before his 71st birthday. After his death Ralph McGill Boulevard (previouslyForrest Boulevard[3]) and Ralph McGill Middle School were named for him in Atlanta. In his honor, The McGill Lecture is held annually atThe Grady School of Journalism at theUniversity of Georgia, featuring a nationally recognized journalist. In 1970 McGill was inducted into theGeorgia Newspaper Hall of Fame.[5]
His personal papers were donated toEmory University and are available at the Manuscripts and Rare Book Library (MARBL) atEmory University Library. Ralph McGill is mentioned by name inMartin Luther King Jr.'sLetter from Birmingham Jail as one of the "few enlightened white persons" to understand and sympathize with the civil rights movement at the time of the letter (April 1963).[6] McGill's role in the campaign against segregation is depicted in Michael Braz'sopera,A Scholar Under Siege, composed for the centenary ofGeorgia Southern University and premiered in 2007.[7] ANational Public Broadcasting Prime Time Special,Dawn's Early Light: Ralph McGill and the Segregated South (1988), documented his impact.Burt Lancaster voiced McGill and prominent figures appear such asJulian Bond,Tom Brokaw,Jimmy Carter,John Lewis,Vernon Jordan,Herman Talmadge,Sander Vanocur,Andrew Young, and Pulitzer Prize winning journalistsHarry Ashmore,Eugene Patterson andClaude Sitton.[8][9]
McGill is buried in Atlanta's historicWestview Cemetery.
