Louis R. Lautier (1897-1962) was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

admitted to the

White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...

(1951) and to the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

(1955).

Biography

Lautier was born in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, L ...

, in 1897 and raised in New Orleans. He attended Straight College (later

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of Ch ...

) in New Orleans,

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, from which he received an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and an honorary

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

, and studied at

Howard Law School Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the old ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. In 1945, Lautier became Washington correspondent for the National Negro Publishers Association, which provided news stories to the black press. He covered White House press conferences but could not get a Congressional press pass. The Standing Committee of Correspondents, a group of reporters that decided on credentials for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

press galleries, rejected his application because his client papers were mostly weeklies and the press gallery admitted only reporters for daily papers. In 1947, Lautier took his case to the

Senate Rules Committee The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, also called the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualificat ...

, whose chairman, Illinois Senator C. Wayland Brooks, ordered the gallery to admit him. He became a member of the White House Correspondents Association in 1951 and began attending their annual dinners two years later. In 1955, Lautier applied for membership in the

. Division within the membership was so intense that Press Club held a secret referendum on admitting him. He was approved by a vote of 377 to 281. Lautier retired from the NNPA in 1961 to become special assistant to the chairman of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

and to write a column, "Looking at the Record," which the RNC distributed to the black press. He died of a heart attack on May 6, 1962.

References

External links

Feb 5th 1956 Louis Lautier became the first Black admitted to membership in the National Press Club
*Integrating Senate Spaces: Thomas Thornton and Louis Lautie

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lautier, Louis African-American journalists 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Morris Brown College alumni People from New Iberia, Louisiana 1962 deaths 1897 births People from New Orleans 20th-century African-American people

Biography

See also

References

External links