Roi Ottley facts for kids

Vincent Lushington "Roi" Ottley (born August 2, 1906 – died October 2, 1960) was an American journalist and writer. He was one of the most well-known African American reporters in the United States in the middle of the 1900s.

Early Life and Education

Roi Ottley was born in New York City on August 2, 1906. His parents, Jerome Peter and Beatrice Ottley, came from the island country of Grenada in the Caribbean. Roi was the second of their three children.

He went to public schools in New York City. He was very good at sports like basketball, baseball, and track. In 1926, he won a scholarship for track to St. Bonaventure College in Allegany, New York.

At St. Bonaventure, Roi was a writer and cartoonist for the school newspaper. In 1928, he moved to the University of Michigan to focus on studying journalism. Later, he also studied part-time at St. John's Law School and Columbia University in New York City.

A Career in Journalism

Roi Ottley started his career as a journalist at the Amsterdam News. He worked there from 1931 to 1937. In 1937, he joined the New York City Writers' Project as an editor.

Writing New World A-Coming

In 1943, Ottley published his famous book, New World A-Coming: Inside Black America. This book described what life was like for African Americans in Harlem, New York City, during the 1920s and 1930s. The book included many of the reports Ottley had written for the New York City Writer's Project.

New World A-Coming won several important awards. It received the Life in America prize, an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and a Peabody Award. The book was even turned into a series of radio shows.

War Correspondent and Broadcaster

In 1943, Ottley became the publicity director for the national CIO War Relief Committee. In 1944, he joined the U.S. Army as a lieutenant.

During World War II, Roi Ottley reported from Europe for different publications. These included Liberty Magazine, PM, and the Pittsburgh Courier. He became the first African American war correspondent to cover the war for major newspapers.

Ottley reported on many important events during the war. He covered the Normandy Invasion, the hanging of Benito Mussolini, and the conflict between Arabs and French in Syria. He also interviewed famous people like Governor Talmadge of Georgia and Samuel Green, who was a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1945, Roi Ottley became the first African American to interview a pope when he met with Pope Pius XII.

After the war, he worked for the Chicago Tribune. He also broadcasted reports for CBS and BBC radio.

Other Published Works

Roi Ottley wrote several other books. These include:

• Black Odyssey: The Story of the Negro in America (1948)
• No Green Pastures (1951)
• Lonely Warrior: The Life and Times of Robert S. Abbot (1955)

Two of his books were published after he passed away:

• White Marble Lady (1965)
• The Negro in New York: An Informal Social History, 1626–1940 (1967)

Later Years and Death

Roi Ottley died on October 2, 1960. He passed away from a heart attack.