Language English Died October 2, 1960 Role Journalist | Name Roi Ottley Nationality American Awards Anisfield-Wolf Book Award | |
Born Vincent Lushington Ottley
August 2, 1906
New York City, New York, United States ( 1906-08-02 ) Occupation writer, journalist, broadcaster Notable works New World A-Coming: Inside Black America Education St. Bonaventure University Books New World A-Coming, Black Odyssey: The Story of the Negro in America | ||
Vincent Lushington "Roi" Ottley (August 2, 1906 — October 2, 1960) was an American journalist and writer. Although largely forgotten today, he was among the most famous African American correspondents in the United States during the mid-20th century.
Contents
Early life
Ottley was born in New York City on August 2, 1906, to Jerome Peter and Beatrice Ottley, the second of their three children. He attended public schools in the city, and in 1926 went to St. Bonaventure College in Allegany, New York. From 1928 he studied journalism at the University of Michigan. He later studied part-time at St. John's Law School and Columbia University, both in New York City.
Career
Ottley worked for the Amsterdam News from 1931 to 1937. In 1943 he published New World A-Coming: Inside Black America, which described life for African Americans in Harlem, New York City, in the 1920s and 1930s. The book won the Life in America prize, an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and a Peabody Award, and was adapted for radio.
During World War II Ottley reported from Europe for Liberty Magazine, PM, and the Pittsburgh Courier.
He later worked for the Chicago Tribune, and for CBS and BBC radio.
Ottley's other published works include Black Odyssey: The Story of the Negro in America, 1948; No Green Pastures, 1951; and Lonely Warrior: The Life and Times of Robert S. Abbot, 1955. Two were published posthumously: White Marble Lady in 1965, and The Negro in New York: An Informal Social History, 1626–1940 in 1967.
Death
Ottley died on October 2, 1960 from a heart attack.