Martin, Louis, 1912-1997

Civil rights activist, newspaper publisher and columnist, and political advisor. Full name: Louis Emanuel Martin. Died 1997.

From the description of Louis Martin papers, 1931-1998 (bulk 1977-1993). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70979773

Journalist.

From the description of Reminiscences of Louis E. Martin : oral history, 1981. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 309733597

Louis Emanuel Martin was born on November 18, 1912 in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1934. He worked on the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy, and was a close advisor of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson on race-related issues. He was deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1961 to December 1968. In 1978, Martin was appointed special assistant to President Jimmy Carter for Black Affairs, specializing in policies affecting minorities and women. After the end of Carter's administration, he served as assistant vice president of communications at Howard University from 1981 to 1987. In the years between his government service, he was an editor at the Michigan Chronicle (1936-1947) and the Chicago Defender (1947-1959, 1969-1978) and a columnist for the Defender (1987-1997). He died in January 1997 in Diamond Bar, California.

From the description of Martin, Louis, 1912-1997 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10571325

Biographical Note

• 1912, Nov. 18: Born, Shelbyville, Tenn.
• 1934: A.B., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• 1936: Reporter, Chicago Defender
• 1936 - 1947 : Editor and publisher, Michigan Chronicle
• 1937: Married Gertrude Scott Martin
• 1947 - 1959 : Editor-in-chief, Chicago Daily Defender
• 1949 - 1952 : President, National Newspaper Publishers Association
• 1959 - 1960 : Editorial advisor, Amalgamated Press, Ltd., Nigeria
• 1961 - 1969 : Deputy chairman, Democratic National Committee, Washington, D.C.
• 1969 - 1976 : Vice president and editorial director, Sengstacke Newspaper chain, Chicago, Ill.
• 1970 - 1979 : Chairman, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Washington, D.C.
• 1976 - 1978 : President, Sengstacke Newspaper chain, Chicago, Ill.
• 1978 - 1981 : Special assistant to the President of the United States
• 1981 - 1987 : Assistant vice president of communications, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
• 1987 - circa 1993 : Chairman, Calmar Communications, Inc., Chicago, Ill.
• 1997, Jan. 27: Died, Orange, Calif.

From the guide to the Louis Martin Papers, 1931-1998, (bulk 1977-1993), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)