Hazel Garland facts for kids

Hazel B. Garland (born January 28, 1913 – died April 5, 1988) was a very important journalist, columnist, and newspaper editor. She made history as the first African-American woman to become editor-in-chief of a newspaper chain that was read all across the country. This was the New Pittsburgh Courier.

Hazel grew up in a farming family and was the oldest of 16 children. She was a smart student. But she had to leave high school early to help her family financially. She worked as a maid to earn money for them.

After she got married in 1935, Hazel became a housewife. She raised her daughter, Phyllis, and was very active in many volunteer groups. Her reports about these club activities caught the eye of local newspaper editors. By 1943, she was writing her own regular column.

In 1946, she started working full-time for the Pittsburgh Courier. By 1960, she was the editor of both the entertainment and women's sections of the newspaper. In 1955, she became the first African-American journalist to write a regular television column. It was called Video Vignettes. This column became one of the longest-running TV columns in newspaper history.

In 1974, Garland was made editor-in-chief. In the same year, the National Newspaper Publishers Association named her 'Editor of the Year'. She retired from her editor role in 1977 because of health issues. But she kept writing and advised the publishers until she passed away in 1988. In 1978 and 1979, she even helped choose winners for the Pulitzer Prize for journalism.

Hazel B. Garland's Life Story

Hazel Barbara Maxine Hill was born in 1913 near Terre Haute, Indiana. She was the oldest of 16 children. Her parents, George and Hazel Hill, were farmers. In the early 1920s, her family moved to Pennsylvania. Her father became a coal miner. They finally settled in Belle Vernon in 1932.

As the oldest, Hazel helped her mother raise her 15 younger brothers and sisters. She loved school and was a very good student. She hoped to continue her education. But her father asked her to leave high school so a younger brother could finish. He wanted him to go to college. Hazel found work as a maid. Her younger brother later chose not to go to college. Hazel remembered that her father did not think girls needed much education. He believed they would get married and stop working anyway.

Even though she wasn't in school, Hazel spent her free time reading at the local library. In the evenings, she also danced, sang, and played drums for local bands. For a short time, she thought about a career in entertainment.

She met Percy Andrew Garland at a party. He was a window decorator and photographer from McKeesport, Pennsylvania. They fell in love when Percy played a trombone solo at a church event. They got married on January 26, 1935. Their only child, Phyllis, was born in October of that year. Throughout her career, Hazel always said her family supported her achievements. They encouraged her dedication to the newspaper.

Hazel was a big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team. In 1951, she joined The Girl Friend's, Inc. This was a respected African American women's social group in Pittsburgh. In 1961, Hazel and her friend Toki Schalk Johnson became some of the first African-American members of the Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh.

Hazel passed away on April 5, 1988, at age 75. She died in McKeesport Hospital after surgery for health problems.

Hazel B. Garland's Journalism Career

Starting Her Career in Journalism

After she got married, Hazel focused on being a housewife and mother. With help from her mother-in-law, she also became very active in local volunteer groups. Because she loved to write, Hazel was often asked to write reports for these clubs.

In 1943, she was on the publicity committee for the local YWCA. A reporter who was supposed to cover an event got lost. Hazel had taken her own notes during the event. She was encouraged to write them up and send them to the newspaper. The editors at the Pittsburgh Courier were very impressed. They asked her to cover similar community events for them as a stringer. This meant she was a freelance reporter, paid $2 for each article.

Hazel wrote so many articles that they were put together into a column called Tri-City News. This column started appearing in the Pittsburgh Courier in late 1943. At that time, most mainstream news rarely showed positive stories about African-American communities. Hazel's friendly writing style and focus on community events, like weddings, honors, jobs, and even sad stories, quickly made her popular. She became known for being professional and a skilled writer.

Becoming a Columnist and Editor

By 1946, the Pittsburgh Courier was one of the most popular black newspapers in the United States. It published 14 different editions and had reporters all over the world. That year, the paper offered to train some of its stringers to become full-time journalists. Hazel quickly took this chance. She first filled in for other staff members. Then she became a general reporter for the paper.

In the same year, her column was renamed "Things to Talk About." It continued to cover community social events in a friendly way. Her colleague, Frank E. Bolden, said that Hazel treated everyone's stories with the same care. He said she would give a wedding in a housing project the same attention as one in a wealthy neighborhood. She believed everyone was human and deserved equal attention. Clubs and religious groups relied on Hazel to write about them. Her work showed how much she cared about families, perhaps because she came from a small town where family was central.

At first, her column only covered local events. But eventually, versions of "Things to Talk About" were printed in both local and national editions of the paper. It ran for 42 years, right up to the month before Hazel's death.

In 1952, the editors decided to start a magazine section. They made Hazel the feature editor. She was the first woman at the paper to have this role. In the same year, Hazel was sent to rural South Carolina. She covered the story of Maude E. Callen, a nurse and midwife who helped both black and white communities. Even though male reporters often got the biggest stories, this one was thought to be better for a woman to cover. Hazel's reports were called The Three I's: Ignorance, Illiteracy and Illegitimacy. In 1953, this series won a New York Newspaper Guild Page One Award for Journalism.

Hazel was very excited about winning the award. She said, "I won the award for the best series. I was so thrilled! And I was shocked, too, because I beat some people who had won many times before. One had won a Pulitzer prize the year before. I said that if I don't win anything else again, I had won that."

In 1955, Hazel started writing a television column called Video Vignettes. At a time when most TV columnists didn't pay much attention to diversity, Hazel's column highlighted when black performers were dismissed or when important shows were canceled. She even sent copies of her columns to TV network managers to make her point. While the column mostly focused on programs with African Americans, it also covered all popular shows. Hazel interviewed actors, writers, or producers of any background who were in Pittsburgh. "Video Vignettes" ran from 1955 until one month before Hazel's death in 1988. That's 33 years, making it one of the longest-running newspaper TV columns ever.

In 1960, Hazel was promoted from feature editor to women's editor of the magazine. However, the Courier faced serious money problems due to a financial downturn and less people buying the paper. Mainstream newspapers also started covering black issues more. Even though paychecks were sometimes delayed, Hazel kept writing for the paper. She said, "I loved the Courier. It was everything to me. I had spent most of my life there, so I wanted to work even if I didn't get paid. I thought maybe we could hold on and keep it together."

Becoming Editor-in-Chief

Because of its money troubles, the Pittsburgh Courier was bought in 1966 by John H. Sengstacke. He was the publisher of Chicago Defender. The paper was then renamed the New Pittsburgh Courier. At that time, Hazel was the editor of both the entertainment and women's sections. In 1972, Sengstacke offered her the job of city editor, which was a management role. Not all her colleagues agreed with this promotion, and she faced some challenges from co-workers.

In 1974, Hazel was promoted again. This time, she became editor-in-chief. She was the first African-American woman to hold this top position at any newspaper in the United States. Before she accepted, Hazel made sure the offer was real and not just a symbolic gesture without true power. The job was very demanding. Hazel spent many hours away from her family. She reorganized the paper to be more modern, created new sections, and expanded existing ones to attract more readers.

Other women had held important positions at the Pittsburgh Courier. But Hazel was the first to have a hands-on management role. She had daily input into how the paper was run. By the time she became editor, she had already been helping with layout, article pictures, and design for many years. Her friend and journalist Frank E. Boulden later said that without her, the Courier might have closed during that time. He said she made it a better product.

In the same year she became editor-in-chief, Hazel was also named 'editor of the year' by the National Newspaper Publishers Association. In 1975, she received a National Headliner award from Women in Communications. In 1976, the New Pittsburgh Courier won the John B. Russwurm award for the best national African-American newspaper. Hazel herself won $500 and a lifetime membership to the NAACP. That year, she was also honored by the Jewish women's group ORT America for 'bridging the gap between races'. In 1977, Hazel retired from her editor job due to health issues. But she kept writing her columns and advised Sengstacke one day a week.

Hazel B. Garland's Legacy

Hazel Garland was the first African-American woman to start as a freelance writer and work her way up to editor-in-chief of a national newspaper. She earned the respect of her colleagues. Whenever she could, she tried to help younger people who wanted to get into journalism. She said, "Just like others helped me, I've tried to do the same with others, especially all the young people coming through the doors at the Courier. I want to give back all the vast knowledge shared with me, by some very, very great people."

When asked to sum up her career, Hazel Garland said: "We tell the stories. We tell the stories of the people. We told the stories of Colored people, we told the stories of Negroes, we told the stories of Black people and now we tell the stories of African-Americans. Does it really matter, sports, social, entertainment, or political. They are all our stories, and if we don't tell it, who will?"