Hoke Marion Norris (October 8, 1913 – July 8, 1977) was a

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

journalist whose reporting during the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

had a significant impact on popular opinion in Chicago. Born in 1913 in Holly Springs, North Carolina, Norris studied journalism at

Wake Forest College Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. He married Edna Dees Norris of North Carolina and had one child, a daughter, Marion Dees Norris. His first journalism job was writing for the ''

Daily Advance ''The Daily Advance'' is an American, English-language daily newspaper based in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The newspaper is owned by Cooke Communications. Cooke Communications, a private company led by the son of Jack Kent Cooke, bought ''T ...

'' in Elizabeth City, NC, which he left to write for the Raleigh ''

News and Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...

''. He then worked for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

before joining the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in 1942. When his tour of duty ended, he returned to AP. After studying at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

on a

Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. ...

in 1950, Norris became a reporter and editor at the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''. Although he was literary editor, he took on a news reporter role during the Civil Rights Movement, and sent dispatches from the South. During the 1970s, he taught and was an administrator at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and was on the editorial board of the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...

''. Norris's literary career included the novels ''All the Kingdoms of the Earth'' (1956) and ''It's Not Far but I Don't Know the Way'' (1968), and the collection of essays ''We Dissent'' (1962). Hoke Norris died in 1977.

References

External links

Hoke Norris Papers
at

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

Guide to the Hoke Norris Papers 1974-1977
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Hoke 1913 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists Chicago Sun-Times people Journalists from Illinois Nieman Fellows People from Holly Springs, North Carolina United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II University of Chicago alumni University of Chicago faculty Wake Forest University alumni Writers from Chicago Writers from North Carolina 20th-century American male writers