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Vernon Jarrett - A Great Leader
Vernon Jarrett, a leading African-American journalist whose reports and columns appeared in the Chicago-Sun Times, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Daily Defender, died Sunday at the University of Chicago Hospitals. He was 84.
"He was a legend of rare vintage," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was at the hospital when Mr. Jarrett died. "He interviewed Paul Robeson, [W.E.B.] DuBois, Roy Wilkins, Dr. King, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Fred Hampton."
Jackson said he was with the hospitalized journalist the night in March when Barack Obama won the Illinois Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. "That was exciting to him," Jackson said. "He demanded that his son get him an absentee ballot."
Mr. Jarrett had been ill for several months with cancer of the esophagus.
He was born in Paris, Tenn., to two schoolteachers whose parents were former slaves. He graduated from Knoxville (Tenn.) College.
He covered a race riot on his first day as a reporter for the Defender in 1946, and was delighted to see his byline appear alongside those of the activist DuBois and poet Langston Hughes.
From 1948 to 1951, Mr. Jarrett and composer Oscar Brown Jr. produced "Negro Newsfront," the nation's first black daily radio broadcast, over WJJD-AM.
Mr. Jarrett became the Tribune's first black columnist in 1970. In 1983, he took his column to the Sun-Times, where he served on the editorial board and worked until 1994.
He closed his last Sun-Times column: "No, I am not retiring from life or my profession. I have too many bills owed to the dead, including my own son [William Jarrett died in 1993 of a rare rheumatological condition] -- debts that can only be relieved through work with the living."
Don Hayner, managing editor/news for the Sun-Times, said, "Vernon has always been a distinctive voice, not only for the black community, but for all of Chicago. In his position as a columnist for the Sun-Times, he was a mentor to any reporter who sought his counsel, and he will be missed."
"Vernon was our resident historian," said Sun-Times editorial board member Michelle Stevens. "We always consulted him for background whenever we were talking about race issues and other concerns, and he always had some personal insight or experiences to offer."
Mr. Jarrett produced nearly 2,000 broadcasts on WLS-Channel 7. At WMAQ-Channel 5, news anchor Warner Saunders recalled, "I learned at Vernon's knee. I first met him in 1968, along with [disc jockey Holmes] 'Daddy-O' Daylie, and the three of us started one of the first black public service programs, 'For Blacks Only.'
"He had a way of endearing himself to people. He always had that smile on his face, and that sharp wit -- you could count on that. I saw him about two weeks ago, and he said, 'I'm not going to let this stuff get me down. I'm going to be back to take care of you. You can't make it without me.' "
Mr. Jarrett was a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and served as its president from 1977 to 1979. He was current president of the group's Chicago chapter.
Also in 1977, he created the NAACP-sponsored ACT-SO program, or Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics. ACT-SO has awarded scholarships, computers and books to thousands of students.
In 1998, Mr. Jarrett was inducted into the National Literary Hall of Fame at the University of Chicago's Gwendolyn Brooks Center. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded him its Silver Circle Award, recognizing his 30 years of contributions to the medium.
His son Thomas, an engineer at Channel 7, said, "Writing was his passion. He was an avid reader, [especially of] history. He was a chronicler of black politics nationwide."
Mr. Jarrett also leaves his wife, Fernetta, and three grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Rainbow/PUSH headquarters, 930 E. 50th.
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This is soooo sad....
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