AWARDS
• CAREER ACHIEVEMENT •
• MERITORIOUS SEVICE IN MASS COMMUNICATIONS •
• EXCELLENCE IN SCHOLASTIC JOURNALISM •

THE LOUIS R. LAUTIER AWARD
FOR
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT

Louis R. Lautier, considered the Dean of Negro, Journalists, "was the second Negro to become a member of the White House Correspondents' Association. He was the first African American to gain membership in the Senate and House of Representatives Press Galleries (1947), the first to breach the walls of the National Press Club (1955), the first to be named assistant chairman of the Republican National Committee (1961) and first to be interred in the Calvary Memorial Park Catholic Cemetery, Fairfax, Virginia. Even in death he continued to be a symbol of racial equality.

Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, in 1896, Lautier was educated at Howe Institute there and Straight College (now Dillard) Prep School in New Orleans. He earned the bachelors degree from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, which later honored him with the doctor of law degree. He attended Howard University Law school, also.

During the twenty years that he was on the staff of the Department of Justice, he also did part-time court reporting and special assignments for the Afro-American newspapers, which gave him his initial opportunity as a columnist. He built up a chain of papers using his material, becoming the Washington correspondent for such papers as the Atlanta Daily World, Pittsburgh Courier, Norfolk Journal and Guide, Cleveland Call Post, Houston Informer and Chicago Defender.

He left the Department of Justice in 1943 for full time news work when his first application for membership in the Congressional Press Galleries was denied on the grounds that news writing was not his principal occupation.

In 1945 he became bureau chief of the National Negro Press Association, covering Capitol Hill and the White House. During the next 17 years, he covered all of the major news stories of his time.

In September 1960, he was named special assistant to the chairman of the Republican National Committee in the general areas of public relations, press relations and campaigning. His goal was to attempt to change the image of the Republican Party among the minority groups in the country," but he died on May 6, 1961 before realizing his goal.

Lautier was the recipient of the War Department's Meritorious Civilian Award. Harvard University's Nieman Foundation presented him an award for A distinguished correspondence, and he received the Wendell Wilkie Award for objective reporting. He was a founding member of the Capital Press Club for both male and female journalists of any race. The Negro Elks named him assistant director of civil liberties for the order, and he held national office in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

The Louis R. Lautier Memorial Award for Career Achievement was established in 1997 by Professor Novella Cross Holmes, director of the Southern Regional Press Institute.

Robert Sengstacke Abbott, founder, editor and publisher of the Chicago Defender, was born on November 24, 1870, at St. Simons Island, GA., to the Reverend Thomas and Flora Abbott. His father died while Abbott was quite young and his mother moved to Savannah where she later met and was married to the Reverend J.H. Sengstacke.

Young Abbott attended Beach Institute in Savannah, Claflin University in South Carolina, and then entered Hampton Institute in Virginia. As a student he sang with the Hampton Quartet which traveled extensively, giving concerts throughout the country. After finishing the printers trade at Hampton in 1896, he went to Chicago. He attended Kent College of Law and graduated in 1900.

Abbott practiced law for a short time in the courts of Chicago and Gary, Ind., but saw the greater need of defending his race through public print. The Chicago Defender was founded on May 5, 1905 , in the kitchen of a rooming house at 3159 State Street. The office equipment consisted of a table and chair and the total assets were 25 cents. Abbott was reporter, editor and newsboy. The Defender grew in strength and magnitude. It has been referred to as the "Bible" of the South for it brought unity among Blacks that might otherwise have been impossible.

Abbott's influence for civic betterment was manifested in other walks of life. He was appointed as a member of the Illinois Race Relations Commission in 1919, following the Chicago race riot. He was National Executive President of the Hampton Alumni Association; life member of the Art Institute of Chicago; member of the Chicago Historic Society; member of Board of Directors, Chicago Urban League; life member of the Field Museum of Chicago; Trustee of the YMCA, and member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He was also donor of the Chicago Civic Opera, member of the Ancient Order of Forresters; member of the Appomattox Club and Lincoln Memorial Association.

He received honorary degrees from Morris Brown College (Georgia) and Wilberforce University (Ohio).

Robert S. Abbott died February 29, 1940, but the institution he built lives on. The Chicago Defender continues the fight he started in the interest of freedom for all Americans and stands as a virile living monument to his great genius.

WILTON C. SCOTT AWARD
FOR
EXCELLENCE IN SCHOLASTIC JOURNALISM

Scott was a man of clever wit and clear vision. He had a keen judgement of talent and a tremendous sense and awareness of future trends. He always gave of himself to help other people. Affectionately known as "the chief," Scott came to Savannah in 1940 and worked with the U.S. Navy and then the National Catholic Community Services in Savannah until 1947. From 1947-72, he served as director of public relations at Savannah State University (then College). He was married to the former Lillian Shanks of Savannah. He retired from Savannah State College in 1977 as dean for extended services.

One of his most notable achievements was the founding of the Southern Press Institute at Savannah State College in 1952. The Press Institute has grown from humble beginnings to a regional association, encompassing a 12-state area.

During his tenure at SSC, Scott received numerous honors for his work in scholastic journalism, among which are included the Gold Key Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association; Gold Medallion for Meritorious Service in the Community from the University of Michigan; and the Wall Street Journal's Award.