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| Wilbert Tatum | |
|---|---|
| Name | Wilbert Tatum |
| Birth date | 1933 |
| Birth place | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Death date | 2009 |
| Death place | New York City, New York |
| Occupation | Newspaper publisher, editor, activist |
| Known for | Publisher and editor of the New York Amsterdam News |
Wilbert Tatum was an American newspaper publisher, editor, and civic activist who led the New York Amsterdam News during the late 20th century. He played a prominent role in New York City neighborhood politics, national civil rights debates, and African American media advocacy, interacting with figures across journalism, politics, and culture. Tatum's tenure intersected with landmark events and personalities from the Civil Rights Movement through the era of Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Mayor David Dinkins.
Tatum was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised amid the segregated contexts of Jim Crow laws and the Great Migration, which shaped his perspectives alongside influences from institutions such as Howard University, Morehouse College, Hampton Institute and regional schools. He moved north to pursue opportunities linked to media and public affairs, connecting him with communities in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the broader New York metropolitan area. His formative years paralleled national figures like Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and organizational developments at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Congress of Racial Equality.
Tatum began his career during a period when African American newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Courier, Chicago Defender, Baltimore Afro-American, and the Amsterdam News served as central voices. He worked alongside or in the milieu of editors and publishers like John H. Johnson, Robert Abbott, John Sengstacke, and reporters influenced by the legacies of Ida B. Wells, W. E. B. Du Bois, Roy Wilkins, and A. Philip Randolph. His trajectory intersected with mainstream outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and broadcasting entities like CBS News, NBC News, ABC News and public platforms such as NPR. Tatum engaged in coverage and commentary concerning administrations from President Lyndon B. Johnson through President Bill Clinton, touching issues debated in venues like the United Nations and legislative arenas shaped by acts such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
As head of the New York Amsterdam News, Tatum steered one of the nation's oldest African American newspapers, a paper with historical ties to founders and editors linked to movements involving Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. Du Bois, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and successors in Harlem political life like Stacey Abrams-era figures and local leaders. Under his editorship the paper covered municipal politics involving personalities such as Mayor Ed Koch, Mayor David Dinkins, Mayor Rudy Giuliani and borough officials from Harlem, Upper Manhattan and Manhattan Community Boards. The Amsterdam News reported on mayoral campaigns, policing policies influenced by debates around Stop-and-frisk and federal prosecutors like Rudy Giuliani when he served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Tatum's management also connected to national debates involving Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Coretta Scott King, Benjamin Hooks, John Lewis, and labor leaders in the tradition of Bayard Rustin.
Tatum was active in civic campaigns, coalitions, and debates involving organizations such as the NAACP, National Urban League, National Action Network, and local community groups tied to churches like Abyssinian Baptist Church and civic forums at City College of New York and Columbia University. He engaged with elected officials including Charles Rangel, Carolyn Maloney, Cynthia McKinney, Steny Hoyer, and municipal leaders on issues of policing, housing, and economic development connected to federal programs like those from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and policy discussions influenced by the Great Society legacy. Tatum promoted voter mobilization efforts comparable to initiatives led by Fannie Lou Hamer, John Lewis, and contemporary campaigns involving figures like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Tatum's tenure drew disputes involving editorial decisions, business practices, and public statements that sparked exchanges with personalities such as Al Sharpton, Bobby Rush, Charles Rangel, David Dinkins, and Rudy Giuliani. Critiques referenced journalistic standards debated alongside institutions like the Society of Professional Journalists, legal interactions with tribunals such as the New York Supreme Court and advocacy groups including the ACLU. Coverage and commentary under his leadership engaged polarizing issues tied to criminal justice debates involving prosecutors like Robert Morgenthau and policy controversies during periods associated with Mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg.
Tatum's personal life included family ties and mentorship networks connecting him to community leaders, clergy, and cultural figures in Harlem and beyond, intersecting with the lives of artists like Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and later cultural institutions such as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Apollo Theater. His legacy is reflected in the survival and influence of African American press traditions alongside successors at the New York Amsterdam News and broader media conversations involving outlets like The Root, Essence, Ebony, Jet, and digital platforms shaped by companies like Google and Facebook. Tatum's contributions continue to be studied by scholars at institutions including Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York University, Harvard University, Yale University, and public historians associated with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Category:American newspaper editors Category:People from Norfolk, Virginia Category:2009 deaths