imported>Chris the speller: replaced: Trustee → trustee, Director → director, Advisory Committee → advisory committee, Civic Engagement → Civic engagement

2024-12-29T17:06:40Z

replaced: Trustee → trustee, Director → director, Advisory Committee → advisory committee, Civic Engagement → Civic engagement

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{{short description|American journalist}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Joseph Lenoir Chambers
| image =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = December 26, 1891
| birth_place = [[Charlotte, North Carolina]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1970|1|10|1891|12|26}}
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| awards = 1960 Pulitzer prize for editorial writing
| occupation = Journalist; Author; Historian
| title = Editor
| education = A.B, University of North Carolina; Columbia School of Journalism, New York
| spouse = Roberta Burwell Strudwick
| parents = Joseph Lenoir Chambers Senior, Grace Singleton Dewey
| children = 1
| relations =
| website =
| footnotes =
| employer = [[The Virginian-Pilot]]
}}
'''Joseph Lenoir Chambers''' (December 26, 1891{{spnd}}January 10, 1970)<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Lenoir Chambers papers, 1907-1970.(Biographical Information)|url=https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/03827/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-12-05|website=finding-aids.lib.unc.edu}}</ref> was an American writer, biographer, historian, and Pulitzer prize-winning newspaper editor. He served in the [[American Expeditionary Forces]], and briefly commanded a combat company, during World War I.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Chambers, Lenoir {{!}} NCpedia|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/chambers-lenoir|access-date=2020-12-05|website=www.ncpedia.org}}</ref>

In 1960, as editor of ''[[The Virginian-Pilot]]'' of [[Norfolk, Virginia]] (now owned by [[Tribune Publishing]]), he won the Pulitzer for Editorial Writing, for his series of editorials in favor of [[School integration in the United States|school desegregation]], especially in [[Virginia]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The 1960 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Editorial Writing|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/lenoir-chambers|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=December 5, 2020|website=www.pulitzer.org|language=en}}</ref> A native of [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[North Carolina]], he was elected to the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame in 1991.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Chambers, Lenoir (1891–1970)|url=https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Chambers_Joseph_Lenoir_Jr_1891-1970|accessdate=Jun 26, 2020|website=www.encyclopediavirginia.org}}</ref>

Author Alex Liedholdt published a book on Chambers, ''Standing Before the Shouting Mob: Lenoir Chambers and Virginia's Massive Resistance to Public School Integration,'' in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Standing Before the Shouting Mob|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/6170801-standing-before-the-shouting-mob-lenior-chambers-and-virginia-s-massive|access-date=2020-12-06|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref>

==Background and education==
Joseph Lenoir Chambers was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on December 26, 1891, to father, Joseph Lenoir Chambers Sr., and mother Grace Singleton Dewey Chambers. He attended [[Woodberry Forest School|Woodberry Forest]] preparatory school, graduating in 1910.<ref name=":0" />

Chambers was a scholar who also played varsity sports and edited the campus newspaper, while attending the [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro|University of North Carolina]]. He was a member of the [[Phi Beta Kappa]] fraternity and received his A.B. in 1914. After graduation, he taught English at Woodberry for two years, until 1916, before enrolling at the [[Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism|Columbia School of Journalism]], in New York; he graduated in 1917.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

In 1960, he was awarded an honorary [[Legum Doctor|Legume Doctorate]], from the University of North Carolina.<ref name=":0" />

==Military service==
His first, brief job, in journalism, was with the ''[[The New Republic (newspaper)|New-Republic]]'' news service, in Washington, before leaving to enlist in the military, during [[World War I]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite thesis |type=PhD dissertation |last=Leidholdt |first=Alexander |date=1991 |title=The "Virginian-Pilot" Newspaper's Role in Moderating Norfolk, Virginia's 1958 School Desegregation Crisis |url=https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/urbanservices_education_etds/119 |publisher=Old Dominion University |doi=10.25777/tb1v-f795}}</ref>

Chambers served as 1st lieutenant, with the 52nd Infantry of the 6th Division, United States Army, and later at Division Headquarters, in the [[American Expeditionary Forces]] in France and Germany (1917–1919). He commanded a combat company in France, for a short time.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

He met [[Nell Battle Lewis|Cornelia (Nell) Battle Lewis]], while she was part of the canteen service with the American Expeditionary Force, (1918–1919), and they had a brief romance, however, not long after returning to the states, the relationship ended.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bennett|first=Barbara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxFZDwAAQBAJ&dq=Lenoir+Chambers%2C+American+Expeditionary+Forces&pg=PT40|title=Smoke Signals from Samarcand: The 1931 Reform School Fire and Its Aftermath|date=2018-05-15|publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-61117-861-6|language=en}}</ref>

==Career==
On returning from his military service, Chambers served as the director of the [[Chapel Hill News|University]] of North Carolina news bureau, until 1921; the position made him responsible for keeping the state's newspapers informed of the activities of the university.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Collection Title: News Services of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records|url=https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/40139|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=December 6, 2020|website=}}</ref> He also served as a reporter, city editor, and then associate editor for the ''[[News & Record|Greensboro Daily News]]'', in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1929, he joined the Norfolk ''[[The Virginian-Pilot|Virginian-Pilot]]'', as associate editor, under [[Louis Isaac Jaffe]]. He married, Roberta Burwell Strudwick, the papers society editor, in 1928.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

In 1944, Chambers became the editor of the papers afternoon edition, the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch, and after the death of Louis Jaffe, he served as the editor of the ''Pilot'', a difficult promotion for Chambers, saying he always thought of his new office as belonging to Jaffe. However, Chambers continued in the progressive tradition of his former mentor, pushing for five-years, for Virginia to comply, and integrate the state's public schools after the 1954 [[Brown v. Board of Education]] courts decision. [[J. Lindsay Almond|James Lindsay Almond]], governor, had closed the secondary schools a [[Massive resistance]] ploy, to avoid compliance.<ref name=":2" />

In 1960, Chambers won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing]], for "'his series of editorials on the school integration problem in Virginia," as exemplified by "[[s:The Year Virginia Closed the Schools|The Year Virginia Closed the Schools]]", published January 1, 1959, and "[[s:The Year Virginia Opened the Schools|The Year Virginia Opened the Schools]]", published December 31, 1959.<ref name=":4" />

While working with the ''Pilot'', Chambers also wrote his book, ''Stonewall Jackson,'' a two-volume biography of the Civil War general, published in 1959. After his retirement in 1960, he authored ''Salt Water & Printer's Ink: Norfolk and Its Newspapers'' (1967), a history of the newspaper industry in Norfolk.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Results for 'au:Chambers, Lenoir,' [WorldCat.org]|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/search?q=au:Chambers,+Lenoir,&qt=hot_author|access-date=2020-12-05|website=www.libcat.bucknell.edu|language=en}}</ref>

== Civic engagement ==
Chambers was a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the National Conference of Editorial Writers. He continued to stay involved in historical and civic activities, after retirement.<ref name=":3" />

He was a trustee of Woodberry Forest, Norfolk Academy and the Norfolk Public Library, and was a member of the Virginia Historical Society. From 1966 until 1969, he served on the advisory committee to establish the New Market Battlefield Historical Park.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

== Selected works ==
A collection of Chambers works and papers are held at the University of North Carolina, as part of The Southern Historical Collection at the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library.<ref name=":1" /> A selection of his works are listed below.

* ''The first year after war the war: being a recapitulation of the activities of the University of North Carolina during the year 1919'', Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press, 1920.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/first-year-after-the-war-being-a-recapitulation-of-the-activities-of-the-university-of-north-carolina-during-the-year-1919/oclc/638927964&referer=brief_results|title=The first year after the war : being a recapitulation of the activities of the University of North Carolina during the year 1919.|date=1920|publisher=Published by the University|location=Chapel Hill N.C.}}</ref>
* ''Stonewall Jackson,'' Volume I, W. Morrow, 1959.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/stonewall-jackson-volume-i/oclc/793457042&referer=brief_results|title=Stonewall Jackson. Volume I.|date=1959|publisher=W. Morrow|location=New York}}</ref>
* ''Stonewall Jackson,'' Volume II, W. Morrow, 1959.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/stonewall-jackson-volume-ii/oclc/793457043&referer=brief_results|title=Stonewall Jackson. Volume II.|date=1959|publisher=W. Morrow|location=New York}}</ref>
* ''Seven days I to the last march'', Morrow, 1959.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/seven-days-i-to-the-last-march/oclc/249401294&referer=brief_results|title=Seven days I to the last march|date=1959|publisher=Morrow|location=New York}}</ref>
* ''Excellence in a democracy'', Golden Fleece, 1959.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/excellence-in-a-democracy/oclc/11587784&referer=brief_results|title=Excellence in a democracy;|date=1959|publisher=[Golden Fleece]|location=[Chapel Hill]}}</ref>
* ''The South and the nation: at the 167th commencement exercises of the University of North Carolina, Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, June 5, 1961'', University of Chapel Hill, 1961.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/south-and-the-nation-at-the-167th-commencement-exercises-of-the-university-of-north-carolina-kenan-stadium-chapel-hill-june-5-1961/oclc/38009136&referer=brief_results|title=The South and the nation : at the 167th commencement exercises of the University of North Carolina, Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, June 5, 1961.|date=1961|publisher=[The University]|location=[Chapel Hill]}}</ref>
* ''Notes on life in occupied Norfolk, 1865'', Virginia Historical Society, 1965.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/notes-on-life-in-occupied-norfolk-1862-1865/oclc/949894978&referer=brief_results|title=Notes on life in occupied Norfolk, 1862-1865|date=1965|publisher=Virginia Historical Society|location=Richmond Va.}}</ref>
* ''Salt water & printer's ink: Norfolk and it's newspapers, 1865-1965'', co-author with Joseph E. Shank, Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press, 1967.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/salt-water-printers-ink-norfolk-and-its-newspapers-1865-1965-by-lenoir-chambers-and-joseph-e-shank-with-a-final-chapter-by-harold-sugg/oclc/606297553&referer=brief_results|title=Salt water & printer's ink; Norfolk and its newspapers, 1865-1965|date=1967|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill}}</ref>
* ''History as an avocation'', Virginia Historical Society, 1968.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chambers|first=Lenoir|url=http://www.libcat.bucknell.edu/title/history-as-an-avocation/oclc/949933435&referer=brief_results|title=History as an avocation|date=1968|publisher=Virginia Historical Society|location=Richmond Va.}}</ref>

== Further reading ==

* Leidhodlt, Alex, ''Standing Before the Shouting Mob: Lenoir Chambers and Virginia's Massive Resistance to Public School Integration'' (University of Alabama Press, 1997)
* ''From Jan. 1, 1959: The Year Virginia Closed the Schools'', The Virginian-Pilot, November 18, 2015. Text of original article by Lenoir Chambers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=From Jan. 1, 1959: The Year Virginia Closed the Schools|url=https://www.pilotonline.com/opinion/article_a5a4a45a-40bb-54e7-9d38-2dc32401c73a.html|access-date=2020-12-06|website=pilotonline.com}}</ref>
* ''Historical marker to be unveiled'', The Northern Virginia Daily, June 6, 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Historical marker to be unveiled|url=https://www.nvdaily.com/news/local-news/historical-marker-to-be-unveiled/article_a68c02e5-dd82-5141-991f-83c17770c557.html|access-date=2020-12-06|website=The Northern Virginia Daily|language=en}}</ref>
* The Closing of Prince Edward County's Schools, Virginia Museum of History and Culture.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-04-11|title=The Closing of Prince Edward County's Schools|url=https://www.virginiahistory.org/collections-and-resources/virginia-history-explorer/civil-rights-movement-virginia/closing-prince|access-date=2020-12-06|website=Virginia Museum of History & Culture|language=en}}</ref>

== External links ==
* [http://www.jomc.unc.edu/specialprograms/famejournalism.html#Chambers NC Journalism Hall of Fame entry on Lenoir Chambers]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Lenoir}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Journalists from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Journalists from Virginia]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing winners]]
[[Category:Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Writers from Norfolk, Virginia]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Activists for African-American civil rights]]

Lenoir Chambers - Revision history

imported>Chris the speller: replaced: Trustee → trustee, Director → director, Advisory Committee → advisory committee, Civic Engagement → Civic engagement