George Eddie Pitts ''(né'' George Edward Pitts; September 22, 1925

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Aliquippa is the largest city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located on the Ohio River about northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 9,238 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part ...

– May 14, 1987

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) was an influential newspaper entertainment journalist and editor – notably, from 1953 to 1964, for the ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acqu ...

'', but later, for the ''Chicago Courier'' (managing editor), and the ''

Chicago American The ''Chicago American'' was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974. History The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as '' Hearst's Chicago American''. It became the ''Morning ...

'' (reporter).

Career

U.S. Armed Forces

In September 1943, at age 17, Pitts volunteered to train in the U.S. Army Aviation Cadet Corps in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He entered active service in the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

November 20, 1943, at

Keesler Field Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city along the Gulf Coast in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler Jr., a Mississippi nati ...

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. Pitts joined the

Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

(ROTC) and then competed for a Regular Army commission under the federal Thomason Act. He was honorably discharged March 8, 1946, at

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the N ...

, Maryland.

Journalism

George E. Pitts, Sr., was first a reporter, then entertainment columnist with the ''

'' from 1953 to 1964. He was a civil rights advocate and wrote about abolishing segregation, notably in entertainment. As an entertainment editor, Pitts flourished as a prolific jazz columnist.

Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. Fol ...

, in the 1958 inaugural issue of ''

Jazz Review ''Jazz Review'' was a Scottish jazz magazine, founded in 1998. The founders were jazz writer (and former editor of ''The Wire'') Richard Cook and Roger Spence of the talent management agency Direct Music Limited of Edinburgh, Scotland. ''Jaz ...

,'' singled out Pitts, stating, :: "Except for George Pitts in the ''

,'' there is little of jazz interest in the Negro press. Once in a while, the Magazine Section of the weekly ''

Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

'' in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

has a feature of interest in fields like gospel singing (for example, the July 12, 1958, issue)." W. Beverly Carter, Jr. (1921–1982), publisher of the ''

'' from 1955 to 1962, became publisher of the ''Chicago Courier'' in 1962. Pitts became managing editor of the ''Chicago Courier'' in 1964. Later, Pitts was a reporter for the ''

.''

Civil service

In 1965, Pitts was appointed Regional Civil Rights Coordinator for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.

Office of Economic Opportunity The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda. It was established in 1964 as an i ...

, headquartered in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, as part of President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

War on Poverty The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national p ...

. The Great Lake Region included Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana.

Death

George Eddie Pitts died May 14, 1987, in

, and was interred May 19, 1987, there, at

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stree ...

Family

George E. Pitts was married to Phyllis F. Pitts ''(née'' Forbes; 1931–2008). They were the parents of the late photojournalist George Pitts, Jr. (1951–2017) and Michael Kevin Pitts. One of George's late brothers,

Ernie Pitts Ernie Pitts (March 8, 1935 – September 24, 1970) was a Canadian Football League wide receiver and defensive back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions in a 14-year career in the CFL from 1957 to 1970. He won four Grey Cups with Winnipe ...

(1925–1970), played football in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He also played intercollegiate baseball and football for the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

''Pittsburgh Courier,'' selected articles

: General features, artist profiles, editorials, reviews :
"Flirting With Greatness: 'Cannonball' Really Whales on Tenor Sax,"
Vol. 47, No. 11, March 17, 1956 :
"Big Jay McNeely – The Blowinist Cat Alive"
(see Jay McNeely), September 29, 1956, p. 21 :* "Agents and Entertainers at Fault: Segregated Audiences Should Be Abolished," No. 48, No. 9, March 2, 1957, p. 22 (the article singled out

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

) (accessible ''via''

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

at ) :
"Patti Austin Show Biz Veteran at Age of 9,"
Vol. 51, No. 21, May 21, 1960, p. 24 : ''George E. Pitts:'' :
"Ray Charles Explains His 'Soul' Singing,"
Vol. 51, No. 11, March 14, 1959, p. 22 :
"Bigots Should Be Kept Off Radio and TV"
September 26, 1959, p. 22 :
"Negro Theatrical Writers Slashed by Sports Scribe,"
October 3, 1959, p. 3 :* "Negro Musicians, Do They Really Want to Merge?" Vol. 51, No. 49, December 5, 1959 (accessible ''via''

at ) :
"Give Brubeck Credit for a Slap at Bias,"
Vol. 51, No. 7, February 13, 1960, p. 22 : ''Theatrical Roundup:'' :
"A Tribute to Duke Ellington,"
April 5, 1956, p. 24 : ''Rock 'n' Roll Department:'' "Bits About 'Em" :
"Bob Harrison"
Vol. 47, No. 46, November 17, 1956, p. 26

Re:

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's derivative style – quoting publisher Bob Harrison: "Negro associates taught him a lot about his present style of singing."

: ''Around the Theatrical World:'' :* "Are Negroes Born With More Rhythm Than Whites?" Vol. 48, No. 28, July 13, 1957, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :
"Comparison of World's Best Two Drummers"
(

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

and

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

), April 8, 1958 :
"Are Russians Afraid of American Jazz?"
May 31, 1958, p. 23 : ''George E. Pitts Sez '' :
"Cannonball Blasts Hurok Who Attacked Jazz"
(see

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

and

Sol Hurok Sol Hurok (Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario. Early life Hurok was born in Pogar, Chernigov G ...

), May 28, 1960, p. 33 :
"Harry Belafonte in Thick of Rights Fight,"
Vol. 51, No. 24, June 11, 1960, p. 23 :
"Belafonte Blasts 'Parlor Liberals'"
(see

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

), August 20, 1960, p. 23 :* "Are White Musicians Discrimination Victims?" Vol. 51, No. 41, October 8, 1960, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Should Artists Express Political Views?" Vol. 51, No. 43, October 22, 1960, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :
"Lean Times Plague Pittsburgh Clubs,"
Vol. 51, No. 45, November 5, 1960, p. 24 :* "Negro Musicians Accused of Discrimination," Vol. 51, No. 46, November 12, 1960, p. 23 (accessible ''via''

at ) :
"Fuss Over Interracial Marriages Ridiculous,"
Vol. 51, No. 48, November 26, 1960, p. 23 :
"Writer Blasts Television Color Line,"
Vol. 51, No. 51, December 17, 1960, p. 23 :* "Jazzman Says Colleges are Jazz Minded," Vol. 52, No. 9, March 4, 1961, Section 2, p. 21 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Comedian Dick Gregory Making It Big" (re:

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

), Vol. 52, No. 11, March 18, 1961, p. Section 2, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Rhythm and Blues Now Strong Musical Force," Vol. 52, No. 37, September 16, 1961, Section 2, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Disc Payola Still Riding High," Vol. 53, No. 2, January 13, 1962, Section 2, p. 20 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Jail, Freedom or Help for Ray Charles," Vol. 53, No. 4, January 27, 1962, Section 2, p. 20 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Negroes Gaining Better Television Roles," March 3, 1962, Vol. 53,No. 9, Section 2, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Nation's Night Club Business Sagging," Vol. 53, No. 12, March 24, 1962, Section2, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Slappy White Dislikes Offensive Comedy," Vol. 53, No. 19, May 12, 1962, Section 2, p. 22 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Some Russians Dug Goodman, Some Didn't," Vol. 53, No. 24, June 16, 1962, Section 2, p. 17 (accessible ''via''

at ) :* "Did US Jazz Come From Africa or Europe?" Vol. 53, No. 29, July 21, 1962, p. Section 2, p. 15 (accessible ''via''

at ) : Survey :
"Who Wants Intermarriage?"
by Pitts and Harold L. Keith, August 16, 1958, p. 3 :: ''Magazine Section'' ::
"Who Wants Intermarriage? Intermarriage Favored, But Non-Skilled Females Object,"
September 6, 1958

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitts, George Edward, Sr. 1925 births 1987 deaths People from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Entertainment journalists American music journalists African-American journalists Jazz writers Activists for African-American civil rights 20th-century African-American people