Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Lodius M. Austin, 1971.Biographical NoteLodius M. Austin was born in Enfield, North Carolina in 1915. His family moved to Durham, North Carolina when Lodius was a child. He attended Hillside High School and completed one year of college at North Carolina College for Negroes (North Carolina Central University). Lodius was brother of journalist and social activist, Louis Austin. Louis Austin purchased The Carolina Times in 1927. Lodius worked with his brother until 1940 when he left Durham to work for the Wilmington Journal. Lodius also worked for Government Printing Office in Washington, DC, and various newspapers in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia. He returned to The Carolina Times in 1959. Louis Austin served as its president of The Carolina Times until his death in 1971, after which the papers was run by his daughter Vivian A. Edmonds.
Scope and ContentsAustin discusses The Carolina Times' focus on maintaining an intellectual presence in the newspaper, its integrated staff, and sources of revenue that supported its continued operation. Austin discusses his four siblings, as well as his brother Louis's involvement in the Hocutt v. Wilson case against the University of North Carolina system which served as the first attempt of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to desegregate higher education. Austin reflects on his work with other newspapers and printing offices in Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, DC. He also discusses: The Carolina Times' inclusion of stories outside the black community; the distinctions between the black and white press; the state of the black press at the time of the interview, including its effect on segregation, and its role in aiding assimilation and improving race relations; the importance of studying the black press; and the future of black papers.
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