Journeys Through Journalism: On Race, Justice, & Press Freedom
Two new books, one about a reporter (In Bad Faith: Earl Caldwell and the Fight for a Free Press by Lee Levine) and the other by a reporter (Newsman: The Road from Route 2, Box 9 by Otis Sanford), address the question of journalism and racial justice.
Noted First Amendment lawyer Lee Levine recounts the 1970 story of New York Times national correspondent Earl Caldwell, one of the first Black reporters hired to cover America’s civil-rights flashpoints, who was ordered to reveal what he had learned about the Black Panther Party. Convinced testifying would destroy the trust he’d built and silence a vital source of truth, Caldwell refused—sparking a showdown that reached the Supreme Court. In Bad Faith tells the incredible story of a Black journalist with rare access, a mostly white press struggling to cover Black communities, and a government under J. Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon running a campaign to infiltrate, discredit, and break the Panthers. When United States v. Caldwell came down, the Justices voted 5–4 against the reporter—a landmark decision that still imperils press freedom today.
Otis Sanford details his experiences growing up in a large Black family in Mississippi during the turbulent civil rights era, and the factors that shaped his 50-year career in journalism as a Newsman. His book’s subtitle represents more than the mailing address of the farm where Sanford grew up in Panola County. It marks the place where Sanford’s parents settled in the early 1940s, aiming to build a family grounded in love, a strong work ethic, Christian values, education, and discipline. Despite hardships and overt racism, the life lessons Sanford learned from his parents and siblings drove him to pursue a career most Black Americans considered unattainable.
In the first half, the library’s Distinguished Lecturer Ron Collins will introduce the event, followed by Lee Levine interviewing Otis Sanford. Library Board Vice-President Chanta Wilkinson will introduce the next segment, with Otis Sanford interviewing Lee Levine.
The event is co-sponsored by the Lewes Public Library, Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice, and the ACLU of Delaware.
