Alvin Adams: An Activist's Legacy

Courtney Perrett
cp160517@ohio.edu

Photo taken by Courtney Perrett at the Alvin Adams Symposium at Ohio University.

The Alvin Adams Symposium was held at Ohio University in memory of Alvin Adams and his legacy as a passionate storyteller, journalist and civil rights activist. I attended the first event of the morning called, "The Alvin Adams Story" hosted by Matt Barnes, a Scripps alumnus (BSJ '08) and co-anchor of the morning show at NBC4 in Columbus. Matt Barnes introduced Alvin Adams' children: Dr Amelia Adams and Alvin C. Adams III who then proceeded to tell the story of Adams' life and why he was such an iconic man.

Alvin Adams was one of the first African-American men to graduate from the Scripps School of Journalism in 1959. After months of struggling to find a job, Adams got an interview and went to work for the Chicago Defender. Later in his carer, he was hired by the Johnson Publishing Company and started working for Jet Magazine. During his time at Jet, he covered a great deal of the civil rights movement and eventually became an editor.

Unfortunately, Alvin never made enough money to support his wife, Ada, and his two children. So, he started working at Jet Magazine part-time, while getting more involved in the civil rights movement through public relations. After retiring from public relations in 1997, Alvin moved back to southeast Ohio with his wife and they co-founded the Multicultural Genealogical Center in Chesterfield, Ohio. In 2007, a residence hall on south green was named in memory of Alvin Adams and his legacy.

Alvin Adams was an advocate for social change throughout his career as a journalist. Adams was able to use his profession and the skills he learned form reporting to be an activist in the civil rights movement. As a storyteller, Alvin Adams encouraged society to reflect on the struggles the African-American community experienced during the civil rights movement. He listened to African-American folks involved in the revolution and reported their stories, bringing their issues to the public's attention through the lens of the media.

Dr Amelia Adams quoted, "he had this ability to look at you, see you and appreciate you for who you were. He was able to do that because of his journalism career."

I think that this quote is powerful because it illustrates that Alvin Adams was able to connect with African-American people throughout his professional career. His sources trusted him, which allowed him to report the stories of their struggles authentically. Alvin Adams was an ethical journalist and storyteller; somebody who would report fairly on issues that were oftentimes extremely controversial and difficult to balance fairly. Dr Adams said that words mattered to him and he would choose them carefully every time he spoke to somebody or wrote a story.

One of the most important ethical responsibilities we have as journalists, according to SPJ, is to seek the truth and report it. I think Alvin Adams and the way he conducted his professional career serves as a great example of how to be ethical as a journalist. Especially in this era of "fake news," it's important to follow the codes of ethics as much as possible because transparency is a core value we cannot afford to let slide.