Armistead Pride

Armistead Pride (MSJ42) is a member of the Medill Hall of Achievement.

Pride headed the journalism program at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., from 1944 to 1976. At the time of his death in 1991, he was considered the foremost scholar on the black press. A graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago, Pride earned a master’s at Medill, and his doctorate from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences with his 1950 dissertation “A Register and History of Negro Newspapers in the United States: 1927-50.” Northwestern awarded Pride an honorary degree in 1976.

His professional experience included work with the Boston Guardian, St. Louis Argus, Louisville Defender, Lamar (Colo.) Daily News and the Associated Press.

Pride went to Lincoln in 1937 and he later inaugurated the Unity Awards in Media to recognize significant contributions in human relations by broadcast and print media. His research about the black press was completed in 1997 by Clint Wilson and published in the co-authored book “A History of the Black Press.” He was a long-time member of the Association for Education in Journalism (AEJMC’s forerunner), and in 1958 was the president of the American Society of Journalism School Administrators (ASJMC’s forerunner). From 1957 to 1963, he served on the American Council on Education for Journalism.