The Seigenthaler Times

Page 1

“Pity the Poor Reader”

Vol. 1

The Seigenthaler Times

No. 1

A pu b l icati o n o f T h e C o m m unit y F o undati o n o f Midd l e T e nn e ss e e

November 8, 2012

Foundation Honors Seigenthaler with Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award NASHVILLE, Nov. 8, 2012 (CFMT) — John L. Seigenthaler has taken on corrupt public officials in print, abovethe-law legislators in court, and a rioting, racist mob in the street, all to defend the principles of free expression

for his nation and his community. One of America’s most well-known and respected journalists, his career has been a springboard from which to champion and defend individual and civil rights, the constitutional protections guaran-

teed by the First Amendment, and the causes of the poor and disenfranchised. Today, Nashville salutes him for a lifetime spent speaking fearlessly and acting courageously. During a luncheon at Nashville’s

Renaissance Hotel, Seigenthaler, 85, will receive The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Joe Kraft Humanitarian Award. The Foundation is honoring Seigenthaler for his “tireless acts to defend human rights,

selfless service to country and community, and courageous vision and dedication to a just, truthful, free world,” said Ellen Lehman, president of the CFMT. Seigenthaler’s journalistic and political legacy includes four decades as a reporter, editor and publisher at The Tennessean and a concurrent nine years as the founding editorial director of USA Today. Two times during his newspaper tenure, he took leaves of absence to serve as an aide to Robert F. Kennedy, who was his close friend. Upon retiring from the two newspapers in 1991, Seigenthaler founded the First Amendment Center, the nation’s foremost institution devoted to education, debate and dialogue about free expression, and remains intimately involved with its programs and forums. “For the past 20 years, we have worked diligently, and I think with a great deal of innovation, to help people explore the rights guaranteed to them by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Seigenthaler said recently. “We hope that as a result of the dialogue they will realize that these rights are values, not threats, to society.”

Photo by Michael Bunch

Scribe and mentor Seigenthaler joined the Nashville Tennessean in 1949. He distinguished himself as a reporter in the early 1950s, breaking a number of investigative stories. In 1954, he gained national attention after he kept a suicidal man on a bridge talking for more than a halfhour and then helped police grab him when he tried to leap to his death. Rising to become assistant city editor by 1960, he was both the beneficiary and (continued on page 2)

Seigenthaler Reporter Pulls Man to Wins Oratory Safety in Suicide Try Contest NASHVILLE, 1944 (Tennessean) — John Lawrence Seigenthaler, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Seigenthaler of 3011 Dudley Avenue and a junior at Father Ryan High School, won the eighth annual Diocesan Oratorical contest Friday night in the Father Ryan auditorium with his speech, “True Americanism.” He was presented with a trophy and a $25 war bond by the Most Rev. William L. Adrian, D,D., Bishop of Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Oct. 5, 1954 (Tennessean) — Reporter John Seigenthaler jerked a man from the jaws of death by his shirt collar 100 feet above the Cumberland River yesterday. For 40 minutes, the Nashville Tennessean reporter shot questions to Gene Bradford Williams, 55, as he threatened to leap from the downtown bridge. Then as Williams muttered, “so long. God forgive me for my sins,” Seigenthaler lunged from astride the

bridge railing and clamped a strong grip on his collar. “I’ll never forgive you,” snapped Williams as police rushed to help Seigenthaler yank the struggling man back to safety. Williams had called the newspaper’s city desk and said he was going to drop from the bridge. “Send a reporter and a photographer if you want a story,” he advised City Editor Bill Maples.

Nashville Corporal Gains Promotion MACDILL AF BASE, Sept. 6, 1948 (USAF) — Cpl. John L. Seigenthaler, Jr. who is currently assigned to the Hq. 126th Airways and Air Communications Service Squadron (AACS), has been promoted to Sergeant. Sergeant Seigenthaler is the son of Mr. and Mr. John L. Seigenthaler, Sr. of 1926 Hayes St., Nashville, Tenn. As a member of AACS, Sgt. Seigenthaler is a part of a world-wide communications system.

Inside This Issue: Poor Reader Pitied ........................ 2 RFK tabs Seig as Aide .................... 2 Seig Through the Years .................. 3 A Seigenthaler Crossword ............. 4 The Road to Freedom .................... 5 Al Gore, Jr. on Friend, Adviser ........ 5 Seig’s Time in Camelot .................. 6 Remembering Joe Kraft ................. 6

Man Who Tried to Jump to Death Thanks Reporter NASHVILLE, Oct. 23, 1954 (Tennessean) — The man who told John Seigenthaler, reporter for the Nashville Tennessean, that he’d never forgive him for pulling him off the railing of Shelby Street Bridge has changed his mind. Seigenthaler received a letter yesterday from Gene Bradford Williams,

now at Central State Hospital for observation. “Dear friend,” the letter said, “Inasmuch as I did say ‘I’ll never forgive you,’ I feel I owe you an apology for said statement. I also feel that I owe you eternal gratitude for saving me from the briny deep.”

Seigenthaler Named Editor NASHVILLE, March 22, 1962 (Tennessean) — John Seigenthaler, for the past two years administrative assistant to U.S. Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, was appointed editor of the Nashville Tennessean yesterday. Seigenthaler assumed his duties immediately. He succeeds Edward D. Ball, whose resignation as editor was accepted by the newspaper’s stockholders Tuesday. Seigenthaler, 34, had served the newspaper as reporter and assistant city editor until two years ago, when he became Kennedy’s aide. “The Nashville Tennessean is very fortunate to have John come home to us as editor,” said Amon Carter Evans, publisher. “He is an able, aggressive newspaperman whose ability and experience will be of the greatest assistance in continuing the alert, progressive and far-sighted policies for which the Tennessean has become well known.”

Slugged: Seigenthaler Hurt in Riot MONTGOMERY, May 21, 1961 (Tennessean) — John Seigenthaler, administrative assistant to Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, was severely beaten and suffered a mild concussion while trying to protect a young white Freedom Rider from rioting segregationists here yesterday. The rioters were enraged by a busload of Freedom Riders, mostly black students advocating for an end to segregation in the south, who had disembarked at the city’s bus station. Also beaten and severely wounded were veteran Freedom Rider John Lewis, a leader of the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins, and Freedom Rider Jim Zwerg. Both men are among a group of Nashville college students trained in non-violent civil disobedience who are now leaders of Rev. Martin Luther King’s Civil Rights Movement. Seigenthaler, a Nashville native and former reporter for the Nashville Tennessean, was hospitalized at the Professional Center and reported in “good” condition last night. Seigenthaler, 32, was in Montgomery as the personal representative of President John F. Kennedy to talk with Gov. John Patterson about the President’s plea for police protection against racial disturbances. As he drove nearer the bus station, Seigenthaler saw Miss Susan Wilbur, of 3608 Bush Hill Road, Nashville, a student at Peabody College and Freedom Rider, being followed by a group of angry women. One of them was smashing Miss Wilbur on the head with a heavy pocketbook. Miss Wilbur was staggering. Seigenthaler stopped his car and urged Miss Wilbur

Mrs. Dolores Seigenthaler, left, examines her husband John Seigenthaler’s head wound over his left ear, at the airport, May 21, 1961, Washington, D.C. Seigenthaler, a Justice department official, was felled by rioters in Montgomery, Ala., while trying to protect a white girl who was being chased. Seigenthaler, an administrative assistant to Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, was in Montgomery to talk to Gov. John Patterson on behalf of Pres. John F. Kennedy. (AP Photo/Bob Schutz)

to get in. Miss Wilbur hesitated, saying: “No, you’ll get hurt.” A white mob surrounded them as Seigenthaler then made a quick move to get Miss Wilbur in the car. As he did so, he was hit in the head from behind by someone wielding a lead pipe, and fell unconscious onto the pavement. Miss Wilbur returned to Nashville last night and told reporters: “That man (Seigenthaler) may have saved our lives. They were ready to kill anybody.” When informed Seigen-

thaler was the personal representative of the President, Miss Wilbur replied, “I didn’t know who he was. All I remember is that I think he told me he was a federal agent. But if he’d had a big revolver it wouldn’t have stopped that mob.” Seigenthaler lay on the ground until police arrived and dispersed the rioters. Still unconscious, he was placed in the front seat of a police car and taken to a hospital.

Connecting generosity with need The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Keep up with the latest ways to give > CFMT.org


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.