Simeon Booker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Simeon Booker
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Booker in an undated photo
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| Born |
Simeon Saunders Booker Jr.
August 27, 1918 |
| Died | December 10, 2017 (aged 99) Solomons, Maryland, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Virginia Union University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Spouse(s) | Carol Booker (until his death) |
Simeon Saunders Booker Jr. (born August 27, 1918 – died December 10, 2017) was an important African-American journalist. His work appeared in major news publications for over 50 years. He was famous for his reporting during the Civil Rights Movement. He also covered the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till. Booker worked for The Washington Post, Jet, and Ebony magazines.
Contents
Simeon Booker's Life Story
Growing Up
Simeon Booker was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were Simeon Saunders Booker and Roberta Waring Booker. When he was five, his family moved to Youngstown, Ohio. There, his father opened a YMCA for African-Americans.
While in elementary school, Simeon wrote a poem. It was published in the local newspaper, the Youngstown Vindicator. Later, as a high school student, some of his stories appeared in the Baltimore Afro American. This was a well-known African American newspaper.
His Education
Booker finished high school in Youngstown. He first went to Youngstown College. But he later moved to Virginia Union University in Richmond. He learned that Black students could not get activity cards at the YMCA-sponsored school.
To earn money, he helped publicize Virginia Union's sports teams. He graduated from Virginia Union in 1942. He earned a degree in English.
Starting His Career
During summer breaks, Booker returned to Youngstown. He wrote articles about Negro league baseball games there. After college, his first job was with the Afro-American newspaper.
Booker later worked for the Cleveland Call and Post. He wrote a series of articles about poor housing conditions. This work earned him a Newspaper Guild Award. In 1950, he received a special Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.
A Career in Journalism
In 1952, Simeon Booker made history. He became the first Black reporter for The Washington Post. He is best known for his reporting during the Civil Rights Movement. He worked for Jet and Ebony magazines.
His coverage of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till was very important. Till was a 14-year-old boy killed in Mississippi. Booker's reports on the murder and the trial are famous. They are considered key pieces of journalism from that time.
During the 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy's team wanted to buy Booker's column in Jet. They wanted to write it themselves. But Booker and the magazine's publisher refused. They showed great integrity.
Booker retired in 2007 when he was 88 years old. He had been Jet magazine's Washington Bureau chief for 51 years. He interviewed presidents and members of Congress. He also spoke with important civil rights leaders. These included Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young.
Booker received many awards for his long career. In 1982, he won the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award. He was the first African-American journalist to receive this honor.
In 2013, Booker was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists' Hall of Fame. He also received the George Polk Career Award in 2015. In 2017, members of the U.S. House of Representatives suggested him for a Congressional Gold Medal.
His Passing
Simeon Booker passed away on December 10, 2017. He was in Solomons, Maryland. He died from problems related to pneumonia at age 99. He was survived by his wife, Carol McCabe, and his three children. A memorial service for him was held in 2018.
Books by Simeon Booker
- Shocking the Conscience: A Reporter's Account of the Civil Rights Movement (2013)
- Susie King Taylor, Civil War Nurse (1969)
- Black Man's America (1964)
