Samuel Levi Adams Sr.
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can not heal, when this life is over we fly away and be at rest."
It is with a sorrowful heart that the staff and management announces the passing of Samuel Levi Adams Sr., 93, of Waycross, who transitioned from this walk of life on Wednesday (April 17, 2019).
A pioneer among U.S. black journalist, he was honored nationally by many organizations for his contributions to journalism, and his efforts to advance minorities in the mass communications field. Choosing journalism over medicine, he earned several degrees, including a bachelor degree in English and Fine Arts from West Virginia State College where Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune spoke at his graduation, a bachelor degree in Journalism from Wayne State University and a masters degree in Journalism from the University of Minnesota.
During his 42-year career, he served as an award-winning journalist, an educator at five universities, a national political consultant, a civil rights activist and started the first black radio newscast on the nation's first black-owned station, Atlanta's WERD 860.
He was a friend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, the two debated the role of the black press and the ministry in the civil rights movement. The list of people he interacted with included Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Activist Vernon Jordon, Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers, Actor and Activist Ossie Davis, Comedian and Activist Dick Gregory and 1972 Presidential Candidate Hubert H. Humphry, just to name a few.
He had a knack for being where the action was.
In 1963, he was the only black reporter from the major media covering the integration of the University of Alabama, standing only 10 feet from Governor George Wallace, who defiantly blocked the doorway to a classroom in Tuscaloosa.
He was there to cover the violence in Birmingham when peaceful demonstrators were thrashed with fire hoses.
He was there in Washington, D.C., when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
He was at the Watergate building during the 1972 break-in, serving as the Deputy Director of the Minorities Division and the Assistant Director of Communications for the Democratic National Committee.
He worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Daily World, a copy editor for the Des Moines Register, and an investigative reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. He was an educator at the University of South Florida, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Kansas, Hampton Institute and the University of the Virgin Islands. He mentored many black students who had successful careers — three of them would win Pulitzer Prizes — one of his proudest achievements.
While at the University of Kansas, he founded the Ida B. Wells Award, given annually by the National Association of Black Journalist (NABJ) to honor people who have shown exemplary achievement advancing, hiring and promoting minorities in the news media. Ironically, the NABJ awarded Samuel this award in 2002, after his retirement, and earlier awarded him a "Lifetime Achievement" Award in 1997.
A short time after passage of legislation outlawing segregation in 1964, Samuel and his wife Elenora trekked 4,300 miles through 12 southern states to check compliance of the new laws. The title of the award winning movie, "The Green Book," references conditions faced by blacks when traveling through the south. Adams and his wife's journey was a real life Green Book. He received a Pulitzer Prize Nomination for this series of articles published in numerous newspapers nationwide. Less than a year later his investigative skills earned him another Pulitzer Prize nomination — uncovering the mishandling of federal funds by college officials at Gibbs Junior College, in St. Petersburg, Fla. He also received the prestigious Green Eyeshade Award for coverage on the Camp Happy Migrant Farm Workers which helped launch President Lyndon Johnson's war on hunger and wage increases for migrant workers.
He served as director of the Southern Regional Council, based in Atlanta, in 1965 and 1966. He wrote a grant proposal and received a $1.5 million grant from the Ford Foundation to start the Voter Education Project. This project helped to elect hundreds of minority officials across the South.
His professional accomplishments, influence on race relations, politics and involvement in the civil rights struggle are legendary, but he truly shined as an adoring son, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, a supportive brother to his siblings, and a doting uncle, friend and role model to his many students. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Nathan and Viola Adams,
three brothers, James, Carlton and Curtis, and one sister, Ola.
He is survived by his wife, Elenora Adams;
daughter, Carol (William) Adams-Smith, of Torrance, Calif.;
sons,
Bruce (Phyllis) Adams, of Willingboro, N.J.,
Samuel Adams Jr., of Los Angeles, Calif.;
sister, Dorothy Adams-Peck, of West Palm Beach, Fla.;
and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.
A graveside service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Hazzard Hill Cemetery.
Public viewing will be held on Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Final rites were entrusted to Harrington Family Funeral Services.
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can not heal, when this life is over we fly away and be at rest."
It is with a sorrowful heart that the staff and management announces the passing of Samuel Levi Adams Sr., 93, of Waycross, who transitioned from this walk of life on Wednesday (April 17, 2019).
A pioneer among U.S. black journalist, he was honored nationally by many organizations for his contributions to journalism, and his efforts to advance minorities in the mass communications field. Choosing journalism over medicine, he earned several degrees, including a bachelor degree in English and Fine Arts from West Virginia State College where Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune spoke at his graduation, a bachelor degree in Journalism from Wayne State University and a masters degree in Journalism from the University of Minnesota.
During his 42-year career, he served as an award-winning journalist, an educator at five universities, a national political consultant, a civil rights activist and started the first black radio newscast on the nation's first black-owned station, Atlanta's WERD 860.
He was a friend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, the two debated the role of the black press and the ministry in the civil rights movement. The list of people he interacted with included Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Activist Vernon Jordon, Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers, Actor and Activist Ossie Davis, Comedian and Activist Dick Gregory and 1972 Presidential Candidate Hubert H. Humphry, just to name a few.
He had a knack for being where the action was.
In 1963, he was the only black reporter from the major media covering the integration of the University of Alabama, standing only 10 feet from Governor George Wallace, who defiantly blocked the doorway to a classroom in Tuscaloosa.
He was there to cover the violence in Birmingham when peaceful demonstrators were thrashed with fire hoses.
He was there in Washington, D.C., when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
He was at the Watergate building during the 1972 break-in, serving as the Deputy Director of the Minorities Division and the Assistant Director of Communications for the Democratic National Committee.
He worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Daily World, a copy editor for the Des Moines Register, and an investigative reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. He was an educator at the University of South Florida, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Kansas, Hampton Institute and the University of the Virgin Islands. He mentored many black students who had successful careers — three of them would win Pulitzer Prizes — one of his proudest achievements.
While at the University of Kansas, he founded the Ida B. Wells Award, given annually by the National Association of Black Journalist (NABJ) to honor people who have shown exemplary achievement advancing, hiring and promoting minorities in the news media. Ironically, the NABJ awarded Samuel this award in 2002, after his retirement, and earlier awarded him a "Lifetime Achievement" Award in 1997.
A short time after passage of legislation outlawing segregation in 1964, Samuel and his wife Elenora trekked 4,300 miles through 12 southern states to check compliance of the new laws. The title of the award winning movie, "The Green Book," references conditions faced by blacks when traveling through the south. Adams and his wife's journey was a real life Green Book. He received a Pulitzer Prize Nomination for this series of articles published in numerous newspapers nationwide. Less than a year later his investigative skills earned him another Pulitzer Prize nomination — uncovering the mishandling of federal funds by college officials at Gibbs Junior College, in St. Petersburg, Fla. He also received the prestigious Green Eyeshade Award for coverage on the Camp Happy Migrant Farm Workers which helped launch President Lyndon Johnson's war on hunger and wage increases for migrant workers.
He served as director of the Southern Regional Council, based in Atlanta, in 1965 and 1966. He wrote a grant proposal and received a $1.5 million grant from the Ford Foundation to start the Voter Education Project. This project helped to elect hundreds of minority officials across the South.
His professional accomplishments, influence on race relations, politics and involvement in the civil rights struggle are legendary, but he truly shined as an adoring son, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, a supportive brother to his siblings, and a doting uncle, friend and role model to his many students. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Nathan and Viola Adams,
three brothers, James, Carlton and Curtis, and one sister, Ola.
He is survived by his wife, Elenora Adams;
daughter, Carol (William) Adams-Smith, of Torrance, Calif.;
sons,
Bruce (Phyllis) Adams, of Willingboro, N.J.,
Samuel Adams Jr., of Los Angeles, Calif.;
sister, Dorothy Adams-Peck, of West Palm Beach, Fla.;
and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.
A graveside service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Hazzard Hill Cemetery.
Public viewing will be held on Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Final rites were entrusted to Harrington Family Funeral Services.
Samuel Levi Adams Sr.
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can not heal, when this life is over we fly away and be at rest."
It is with a sorrowful heart that the staff and management announces the passing of Samuel Levi Adams Sr., 93, of Waycross, who transitioned from this walk of life on Wednesday (April 17, 2019).
A pioneer among U.S. black journalist, he was honored nationally by many organizations for his contributions to journalism, and his efforts to advance minorities in the mass communications field. Choosing journalism over medicine, he earned several degrees, including a bachelor degree in English and Fine Arts from West Virginia State College where Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune spoke at his graduation, a bachelor degree in Journalism from Wayne State University and a masters degree in Journalism from the University of Minnesota.
During his 42-year career, he served as an award-winning journalist, an educator at five universities, a national political consultant, a civil rights activist and started the first black radio newscast on the nation's first black-owned station, Atlanta's WERD 860.
He was a friend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, the two debated the role of the black press and the ministry in the civil rights movement. The list of people he interacted with included Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Activist Vernon Jordon, Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers, Actor and Activist Ossie Davis, Comedian and Activist Dick Gregory and 1972 Presidential Candidate Hubert H. Humphry, just to name a few.
He had a knack for being where the action was.
In 1963, he was the only black reporter from the major media covering the integration of the University of Alabama, standing only 10 feet from Governor George Wallace, who defiantly blocked the doorway to a classroom in Tuscaloosa.
He was there to cover the violence in Birmingham when peaceful demonstrators were thrashed with fire hoses.
He was there in Washington, D.C., when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
He was at the Watergate building during the 1972 break-in, serving as the Deputy Director of the Minorities Division and the Assistant Director of Communications for the Democratic National Committee.
He worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Daily World, a copy editor for the Des Moines Register, and an investigative reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. He was an educator at the University of South Florida, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Kansas, Hampton Institute and the University of the Virgin Islands. He mentored many black students who had successful careers — three of them would win Pulitzer Prizes — one of his proudest achievements.
While at the University of Kansas, he founded the Ida B. Wells Award, given annually by the National Association of Black Journalist (NABJ) to honor people who have shown exemplary achievement advancing, hiring and promoting minorities in the news media. Ironically, the NABJ awarded Samuel this award in 2002, after his retirement, and earlier awarded him a "Lifetime Achievement" Award in 1997.
A short time after passage of legislation outlawing segregation in 1964, Samuel and his wife Elenora trekked 4,300 miles through 12 southern states to check compliance of the new laws. The title of the award winning movie, "The Green Book," references conditions faced by blacks when traveling through the south. Adams and his wife's journey was a real life Green Book. He received a Pulitzer Prize Nomination for this series of articles published in numerous newspapers nationwide. Less than a year later his investigative skills earned him another Pulitzer Prize nomination — uncovering the mishandling of federal funds by college officials at Gibbs Junior College, in St. Petersburg, Fla. He also received the prestigious Green Eyeshade Award for coverage on the Camp Happy Migrant Farm Workers which helped launch President Lyndon Johnson's war on hunger and wage increases for migrant workers.
He served as director of the Southern Regional Council, based in Atlanta, in 1965 and 1966. He wrote a grant proposal and received a $1.5 million grant from the Ford Foundation to start the Voter Education Project. This project helped to elect hundreds of minority officials across the South.
His professional accomplishments, influence on race relations, politics and involvement in the civil rights struggle are legendary, but he truly shined as an adoring son, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, a supportive brother to his siblings, and a doting uncle, friend and role model to his many students. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Nathan and Viola Adams,
three brothers, James, Carlton and Curtis, and one sister, Ola.
He is survived by his wife, Elenora Adams;
daughter, Carol (William) Adams-Smith, of Torrance, Calif.;
sons,
Bruce (Phyllis) Adams, of Willingboro, N.J.,
Samuel Adams Jr., of Los Angeles, Calif.;
sister, Dorothy Adams-Peck, of West Palm Beach, Fla.;
and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.
A graveside service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Hazzard Hill Cemetery.
Public viewing will be held on Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Final rites were entrusted to Harrington Family Funeral Services.
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can not heal, when this life is over we fly away and be at rest."
It is with a sorrowful heart that the staff and management announces the passing of Samuel Levi Adams Sr., 93, of Waycross, who transitioned from this walk of life on Wednesday (April 17, 2019).
A pioneer among U.S. black journalist, he was honored nationally by many organizations for his contributions to journalism, and his efforts to advance minorities in the mass communications field. Choosing journalism over medicine, he earned several degrees, including a bachelor degree in English and Fine Arts from West Virginia State College where Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune spoke at his graduation, a bachelor degree in Journalism from Wayne State University and a masters degree in Journalism from the University of Minnesota.
During his 42-year career, he served as an award-winning journalist, an educator at five universities, a national political consultant, a civil rights activist and started the first black radio newscast on the nation's first black-owned station, Atlanta's WERD 860.
He was a friend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, the two debated the role of the black press and the ministry in the civil rights movement. The list of people he interacted with included Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Activist Vernon Jordon, Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers, Actor and Activist Ossie Davis, Comedian and Activist Dick Gregory and 1972 Presidential Candidate Hubert H. Humphry, just to name a few.
He had a knack for being where the action was.
In 1963, he was the only black reporter from the major media covering the integration of the University of Alabama, standing only 10 feet from Governor George Wallace, who defiantly blocked the doorway to a classroom in Tuscaloosa.
He was there to cover the violence in Birmingham when peaceful demonstrators were thrashed with fire hoses.
He was there in Washington, D.C., when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
He was at the Watergate building during the 1972 break-in, serving as the Deputy Director of the Minorities Division and the Assistant Director of Communications for the Democratic National Committee.
He worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Daily World, a copy editor for the Des Moines Register, and an investigative reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. He was an educator at the University of South Florida, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Kansas, Hampton Institute and the University of the Virgin Islands. He mentored many black students who had successful careers — three of them would win Pulitzer Prizes — one of his proudest achievements.
While at the University of Kansas, he founded the Ida B. Wells Award, given annually by the National Association of Black Journalist (NABJ) to honor people who have shown exemplary achievement advancing, hiring and promoting minorities in the news media. Ironically, the NABJ awarded Samuel this award in 2002, after his retirement, and earlier awarded him a "Lifetime Achievement" Award in 1997.
A short time after passage of legislation outlawing segregation in 1964, Samuel and his wife Elenora trekked 4,300 miles through 12 southern states to check compliance of the new laws. The title of the award winning movie, "The Green Book," references conditions faced by blacks when traveling through the south. Adams and his wife's journey was a real life Green Book. He received a Pulitzer Prize Nomination for this series of articles published in numerous newspapers nationwide. Less than a year later his investigative skills earned him another Pulitzer Prize nomination — uncovering the mishandling of federal funds by college officials at Gibbs Junior College, in St. Petersburg, Fla. He also received the prestigious Green Eyeshade Award for coverage on the Camp Happy Migrant Farm Workers which helped launch President Lyndon Johnson's war on hunger and wage increases for migrant workers.
He served as director of the Southern Regional Council, based in Atlanta, in 1965 and 1966. He wrote a grant proposal and received a $1.5 million grant from the Ford Foundation to start the Voter Education Project. This project helped to elect hundreds of minority officials across the South.
His professional accomplishments, influence on race relations, politics and involvement in the civil rights struggle are legendary, but he truly shined as an adoring son, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, a supportive brother to his siblings, and a doting uncle, friend and role model to his many students. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Joe Nathan and Viola Adams,
three brothers, James, Carlton and Curtis, and one sister, Ola.
He is survived by his wife, Elenora Adams;
daughter, Carol (William) Adams-Smith, of Torrance, Calif.;
sons,
Bruce (Phyllis) Adams, of Willingboro, N.J.,
Samuel Adams Jr., of Los Angeles, Calif.;
sister, Dorothy Adams-Peck, of West Palm Beach, Fla.;
and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.
A graveside service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Hazzard Hill Cemetery.
Public viewing will be held on Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Final rites were entrusted to Harrington Family Funeral Services.
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