Journalist and author Carl Thomas Rowan was one of the most prominent Black journalist of the 20th century. He was a nationally-syndicated op-ed columnist for the Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times newspapers. He also wrote several books. He was born August 11, 1925 in Ravenscroft, Tennessee. He was one of five children born to Thomas and Johnnie B. Rowan and was raised in McMinnville, Tennessee.
As a youth Rowan worked hoeing bulb grass for 10 cents an hour, later performing hard manual labor for 25 cents an hour when there was work available. Like many other Black youths of this era, Rowan's childhood was deeply affected by the "Jim Crow" attitudes so prevalent in the South. While the economic and social situation was miserable, Rowan was determined to get a good education. He excelled in high school, graduating from Bernard High School in 1942 as class president and valedictorian.
Rowan left McMinnville for Nashville with 77 cents in his pocket and the dream of a college education. In order to earn his tuition for college, he moved in with his grandparents and got a job in a tuberculosis hospital the summer before enrolling in the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College (Tennessee State University) in the fall of 1942. He also attended Washburn University. He trained at the Naval Midshipmen School at Fort Schuyler, The Bronx and became one of the first Black Americans to serve as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy. Following his service with the Navy during World War II Rowan returned to complete his studies and graduate from Oberlin College. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1947 majoring in mathematics. He received his master's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota, supporting himself by writing for two weekly newspapers, the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St. Paul Recorder. In 1950 Rowan married Vivien Louise Murphy, a public health nurse; they had three children Barbara, Carl Jr., and Geoffrey.
He began his career in journalism as copywriter for The Minneapolis Tribune. He became a staff writer in 1950, reporting extensively on the Civil Rights Movement. Among his early pieces was a series entitled How Far from Slavery" which he wrote after returning to the South to study racial issues. The articles earned several local accolades and contributed to Rowan being the first Black person to become recipient of the Minneapolis "Outstanding Young Man" award. The articles also served as the basis for South of Freedom, his first book.
In 1961, Rowan was appointed Deputy Secretary of State by President John F. Kennedy. He was involved in the area of news coverage of increasing US military involvement in Vietnam and was also part of the negotiating team that secured the exchange of Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down over the Soviet Union. The following year, he served as a delegate to the United Nations during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Rowan became the U.S. Ambassador to Finland in 1963. In 1964, Rowan was appointed director of the United States Information Agency by President Lyndon B. Johnson. As director of the USIA he was the first Black American to sit on the National Security Council.
He accompanied then Vice President Johnson on a tour through Southeast Asia, India and Europe. Rowan became the center of controversy with the rejection of his application for membership in the prestigious Cosmos Club--whose membership qualifications included meritorious work in science, literature, the learned professions, and public service--on racial grounds. The Cosmos Club then passed a rule prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, but Rowan's nomination was never resurrected. The controversy resulted in the withdrawal of President Kennedy's application to the club when Kennedy's sponsor resigned in protest.
He then spent a year in India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia writing columns during 1954. These led to a second well-received book: The Pitiful and the Proud, which was based upon his observations while in the Asia. A third book, Go South to Sorrow, was published in 1957. While his books received favorable acclaim, Rowan's writing skills were most commonly acknowledged for his journalism. He was the only journalist to receive the coveted "Sigma Delta Chi" award for newspaper reporting in three consecutive years: for general reporting in 1954; for best foreign correspondence in 1955; and for his coverage of the political unrest in Southeast Asia in 1956. From 1966 to 1998, Rowan wrote a syndicated column for the Chicago Sun-Times and, from 1967 to 1996, was a panelist on Inside Washington. Rowan was a 1995 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his commentaries. In 1968 Rowan received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College.
Rowan received the George Foster Peabody Award for his television special "Race War in Rhodesia" and was awarded an Emmy for his documentary "Drug Abuse: America's 64 Billion Dollar Curse." His newspaper column was syndicated by the Chicago Sun-Times and reached nearly half of homes receiving newspapers in the United States. He was on numerous public affairs television programs. He also aired "The Rowan Report," a daily series of commentaries on radio stations heard across the nation. He served as a roving reporter for the Reader's Digest and regularly published articles in that magazine. He was one of the most sought-after lecturers in the United States, speaking on college campuses and at conventions of teachers, business people, civil rights leaders, and community groups.
As a national columnist and commentator, Rowan developed a reputation for being independent and often controversial. He publicly made statements, such as urging Dr. King to lessen his anti-war stance, because it was hurting the thrust of the Civil Rights movement and calling for the resignation of J. Edgar Hoover, the powerful FBI Director, citing abuses of power and corruption. While Rowan has always been a spokesperson for civil and economic rights for Black people, he has also been critical of those he feels should more aggressively address those issues affecting themselves.
Thurgood Marshall's only interview while serving on the Supreme Court of the United States was for Carl Rowan's 1988 documentary. The National Press Club gave Rowan its 1999 Fourth Estate Award for lifetime achievement. Rowan died at age 75 on September 23, 2000, in Washington, D.C. On January 9, 2001, United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright dedicated the press briefing room at the State Department as the Carl T. Rowan Briefing room.
