George McElroy (journalist)

Early life

George McElroy was born 25 May 1922 in Houston, Texas to Hugh and Philomena McElroy. His father, Hugh George McElroy was a highly decorated war veteran who fought in the Battle of San Juan Hill against Pancho Villa and who fought alongside General John J. Pershing and President Theodore Roosevelt, and later was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his bravery in service during World War I. George McElroy was raised in the Third Ward area of Houston.

Education and fight against segregation

After he was honorably discharged from service, McElroy returned to his still-segregated home state of Texas. Due to segregation (separate, but equal) laws of the time, he was forced to attend Texas Southern University (then-called Texas State University for Negroes (TSUN)) after being denied admission to the University of Texas (UT). He had applied to the University of Texas following the landmark decision of Sweatt v. Painter. In his letter of denial from UT, he was told that UT and TSUN both offered the courses he was seeking. Being a Negro, according to segregation laws, he had to attend TSUN. He responded to the denial letter from UT stating that although the courses were offered at both universities, there was little else "equal" about the universities. McElroy sued for the right to attend UT, but ultimately earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from TSUN in 1956.

McElroy received a scholarship from the Wall Street Journal to attend the University of Missouri. In 1970, he became the first African American to earn a master's degree in journalism from the university.

Journalism career

In 1937, McElroy landed a job as a youth column writer at the Informer, the oldest African-American newspaper in Texas. He was paid $3 per column. Throughout his off-and-on 58-year tenure with the newspaper, he functioned in virtually every capacity of running the periodical. He retired in 1996, but served as Editor Emeritus until his death in 2006.

After graduation from the University of Missouri, McElroy considered several job offers and accepted a position as a "colored sports" writer for the now-defunct Houston Post daily newspaper in 1954 and in 1956, he became a weekly columnist. He was the first black reporter and the first black columnist at the paper which, at that time, was the largest morning newspaper in Texas. In spite of his position as a regular columnist, his likeness in the paper above his column was a black and white sketch of his image as opposed to photos as presented for his white counterparts at the paper.

In response to question to him c. 1970 from a reader of his column, McElroy responded:

“The world, the nation, the state, the city are all multicolored, as in a rainbow and multiracial. A professional journalist simply cannot afford to reside in a racial-isolation ward. He must travel and he must converse and he must observe and he must be curious.

In 1960, during an annual meeting of the Houston Press Club, the club presented a skit portraying the year's presidential candidates. (McElroy was the first African American member of the club). Local television reporter Dave Ward portrayed democratic candidate Lyndon Johnson. Performing in whiteface, McElroy portrayed the role of Alabama Gov. George Wallace, a vigilant segregationist, after no one else wanted to portray the independent candidate. This portrayal made McElroy the first black cast member of the club's annual "Gridiron Show". Picketers lined the streets and the cast members received death threats leading to Houston mayor Louie Welch provided police protection for McElroy for 72 hours.

Also in 1960, thirteen students from Texas Southern, led by Eldrewey Stearns, held a sit-in at the counter at a Houston area Weingarten store in protest of segregation using a model laid out by experienced sit-in students at Fisk University. In planning how to attract press coverage for the sit-in, they contacted McElroy for input who committed to send a photographer from The Informer and advised on calling the police themselves. This tip proved to be instrumental in the protest. Over 100 people eventually participated in the protest which ended peacefully. The Houston television and printed press coverage dubbed the event as the "first sit-in west of the Mississippi."

McElroy also served as the Texas correspondent for Jet Magazine and was elected as President of the Press Club of Houston. Throughout his career as a journalist, McElroy interviewed numerous persons of interest including Martin Luther King, Jr., Fidel Castro, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and six American presidents.

In a 2000 interview, McElroy stressed the continued need for black press stressing that African Americans are closer to the issues concerning their own community and he credits black press for being first in bringing the effects of crack cocaine into the limelight long before it was deemed an issue in mainstream media.

"We cover issues that the major dailies don't see or fail to see. We're closer to problems and concerns in our community. We see them first."

Teaching career

Simultaneously with his journalism career, McElroy taught journalism in the Houston area for over four decades.

Firsts

George McElroy was a pioneer for African Americans in the field of journalism. Throughout his life he became the first African American:

McElroy was also the first minority of any race to have a regular column in a Houston newspaper

Honors

Throughout his life, McElroy received over 100 awards and honors including:

Scholarships

Several journalism-related scholarships have been named in honor of George McElroy's contributions to journalism, including:

Other affiliations

Military service

From 1940-1943, McElroy served in the Navy during World War II and served in the United States Merchant Marines from 1944 through 1945. From 1951-1952 during the Korean War, he served as an Information Officer at Ellington Air Force Base where he met his second wife, Lucinda Martin McElroy, who was serving as a Corporal in the US Air Force.

In 1973, McElroy was commissioned by Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe to serve as an admiral in the state's navy. He declined the commission opting to continue his journalism career.

Personal life

McElroy was first married to the late Maxine Prudhomme. They had one child, Madeline. His second marriage was to Air Force veteran Lucinda Martin in 1950 with whom he had four more daughters, Toni, Linda, Kathleen and Sherridan. George and Lucinda were married nearly 45 years until her death in 1995.

In 2006, McElroy was hospitalized with respiratory illness. In September 2006, McElroy received word that he would be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Houston Association of Black Journalists at their 20th Annual Scholarship Gala. Although receiving medical treatment at the time, McElroy received permission from his attending physicians, and attended the event. McElroy received his award and gave his acceptance speech. Shortly after the event, McElroy fell gravely ill with acute pneumonia and died on October 6. His funeral services were held at St. Mary of the Purification Catholic Church and his remains were interred at Houston National Cemetery in Houston, Texas.