Louis E. Martin

Louis Emanuel Martin Jr. (November 18, 1912 – January 27, 1997) was an American journalist, newspaper publisher, civil rights activist and advisor to three presidents of the United States. Through his political activism during the civil rights era, he came to be known as the "Godfather of Black Politics."

Early life Louis Emanuel Martin Jr. was born on November 18, 1912, in Shelbyville, Tennessee to Dr. Louis E. Martin Sr. and Willa Martin. Louis Jr. was their only son. He grew up in Savannah, Georgia. His father, a physician of Afro-Cuban ancestry, was a graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that he met and married the former Willa Hill of nearby Shelbyville.

Dr. Martin moved his family to Savannah when Louis Jr. was four years old, largely because the climate of southeast Georgia reminded him of the sub-tropical climate of his native Santiago, Cuba. It was in Savannah that Louis Jr. later met and married the former Gertrude Scott, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Ohio State University. They had five children.

Newspaper career After first attending Fisk University, Martin graduated from the University of Michigan in 1934, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. Following college, Martin traveled to his father's native Cuba, spending two years there as a freelance writer based in Havana. Returning to the United States in 1936, he was hired as a reporter with the Chicago Defender, a major black newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois.

After six months in Chicago, he was asked to return to Michigan to help launch the Michigan Chronicle, a black newspaper, serving as its first editor and publisher. Martin remained at this newspaper for 11 years.

Louis Martin was a founder of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a group of black newspaper publishers. He was also (in 1970) a founder of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a research organization in Washington, D.C. providing technical support for black officeholders and scholars. He was its first chairman, serving for eight years.

Political career President John F. Kennedy visits with Democratic Congressional candidate from California, Augustus F. Hawkins (center), and Deputy Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Louis E. Martin (right). Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. Originally recruited by R. Sargent Shriver, Martin joined the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. During the campaign, Martin was instrumental in persuading candidate Kennedy to place a telephone call to Coretta Scott King to express dismay over the jailing of her husband, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Personal life Martin was a Catholic, a member of Little Flower Catholic Church in Bethesda, Maryland.

Career timeline Michigan Chronicle, editor and publisher, 1936–1947 Chicago Defender, editor-in-chief, 1947–59, editor, 1969–78, columnist, 1987–1997 Democratic National Committee, deputy chairman, 1960–1969 Political advisor to President John F. Kennedy, 1960–1963 Political advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963–1968 Special assistant to President Jimmy Carter, 1978–1981 Assistant vice president of communications, Howard University, 1981–1987 Chairman of the board, Calmar Communications, 1981–1997

Honors

Awards National Urban League, Equal Opportunity Award, 1979 National Newspaper Publishers Association, John B. Russwurm Award, 1980 Howard University, Communications Award, 1987 Democratic Party, Larry O'Brien Achievement Award, 1992

Honorary degrees Wilberforce University, 1951 Harvard, 1970 Howard University, 1979 Wesleyan University, 1980