Journalism is a powerful tool in the American Experiment. When used for ill, there are catastrophic consequences. Yet, many times, our fiercest liberators reside in the newsroom. Louis Lomax is one such man that writer Thomas Aiello has brought out of obscurity to shed light on the trials and tribulations of those who wielded the power of the pen for the common good.
The Journalist and the Movement: On The Life and Times of Louis Lomax
By Elias Rodriques
There was a time when journalists played some of the most consequential supporting roles in histories of the Civil Rights Movement. Consider the often-told story of the Voting Rights Act: On March 7, 1965, six hundred protesters demonstrated for the right to vote in Selma, Alabama. Local and state police assaulted them. Journalists photographed and videotaped the cops’ attacks, broadcasting their brutality to the nation. After seeing the footage, then President Lyndon B. Johnson convened a special session of Congress to urge the representatives to pass the Voting Rights Act, which they did that summer. In this canonical narrative, the protestors may be the protagonist, but journalists play a pivotal role. Their heroic documenting, the story goes, made possible the federal government’s intervention in defending the right to vote.
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