Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Cullen McCoy, 1971.Biographical NoteCullen McCoy was born in Fort Greene, Georgia on January 5, 1919 and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida at an early age. Cullen received a BA in history from the University of Minnesota and pursued graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh. He began his career as a newsman in high school, working for the Florida News. In 1939, he co-founded the Record Dispatch. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Dallas Express in Texas.
Scope and ContentsMcCoy's 1971 interview begins with an overview of his childhood, education, and early career in Florida. He discusses early successes with the Record Dispatch and its ultimate demise due to state politics and opposition from the Ku Klux Klan. More generally, McCoy discusses: the shift in the tone of the black press from sensational to sophisticated; the use of black papers as a platform for bolstering black consciousness; the financial challenges of the black press; the future of black journalism; the possible consequences of white ownership of the black press; the role of black papers in the desegregation of schools and the exposure of lynchings and other injustices; and the need for a national black news service. He describes his work as editor of the Dallas Express, the prospect of distributing the paper in prisons, and how the black press is inherently political. McCoy concludes with a discussion of the differences between the black press in the North and South.
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