Percival Leroy (P.L.) Prattis (April 27, 1895 – February 29, 1980) was an American journalist. He was the city editor of the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'', the most influential

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 ...

weekly newspaper in the U.S. at the beginning of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Later, he spent 30 years at 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 ...

'', another influential black paper, rising up to become executive editor.

Life and career

P. L. Prattis was born on April 27, 1895, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He attended the

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

from 1912 to 1915 and graduated in 1916 from the Ferris Institute. He served as a battalion sergeant major in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

, headquartered in the Company 813 Pioneer Infantry, stationed in France for nearly a year in 1918 and 1919. He was honorably discharged from his duties on July 23, 1919. Prattis began his journalism career in 1919 as the editor of the newly formed ''Michigan State News'' in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. In 1921, he moved to

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

, to become the city editor of the ''

'', which was the most influential

weekly newspaper in the country at the beginning of World War I. In 1923, Prattis was hired as the city editor of the

Associated Negro Press The Associated Negro Press (ANP) was an American news service founded in 1919 in Chicago, Illinois by Claude Albert Barnett. The ANP had correspondents, writers, reporters in all major centers of the black population in the United States of Americ ...

in Chicago, a position for which he travelled internationally on assignment and interviewed prominent world figures. He moved to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, in 1936 to take the position of city editor with the ''

''.Percival L. Prattis Papers Finding Aid
1916-1980, AIS.2007.01, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh In 1947, Prattis was unanimously granted membership in the U.S. Senate and House press galleries by the executive committee of the Periodical Correspondents Association. That year he was the first African-American journalist permitted to enter the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

via the

Periodical Press Galleries of the United States Congress The Periodical Press Galleries (PPG), along with the Daily Press Galleries, Radio and Television Galleries, and Senate Photographers’ Gallery, comprise the four media galleries of the United States Congress. The United States Congress is the onl ...

. Prattis became the ''Courier'''s managing editor in 1948, and then executive editor in 1956. When the ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was in financial jeopardy during the 1960s, Prattis donated $33,000 of his own money to help stabilize the paper. He remained executive editor until 1965, retiring after

John H. Sengstacke John Herman Henry Sengstacke (November 25, 1912 – May 28, 1997) was an American newspaper publisher and owner of the largest chain of African-American oriented newspapers in the United States. Sengstacke was also a civil rights activist and wor ...

purchased the ailing paper. On February 29, 1980, Prattis died at the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

Hospital in

Aspinwall, Pennsylvania Aspinwall is a borough on the Allegheny River in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In 1900, 1,231 people lived in Aspinwall, and that number rose to 2,592 in 1910, and 3,170 by 1920. The popu ...

. His burial was at

Homewood Cemetery Homewood Cemetery is a historic urban cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Point Breeze and is bordered by Frick Park, the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, and the smaller Smithfield Cemetery. It was established i ...

, Pittsburgh. Prattis was honored posthumously for his part in African-American media and service to the ''Pittsburgh Courier'' at the 100th anniversary celebration for the ''Courier.''

Personal life and family

His wife, Helen Prattis, was a skilled seamstress and poet, whose work, under the title Everyday Verse, appeared weekly in the Pittsburgh Courier from 1951 through 1953. Their daughter, Patricia Prattis Jennings, was the Principal Keyboard of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1966 to 2006.

References

External links

Percival L. Prattis Papers Finding Aid
1916-1980, AIS.2007.01, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh {{DEFAULTSORT:Prattis, P.L. 1895 births 1980 deaths African-American journalists Burials at Homewood Cemetery Journalists from Pennsylvania Writers from Philadelphia 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century African-American people