Hazel Brannon Smith, Date of Birth, Date of Death

Hazel Brannon Smith

American journalist

Date of Birth: 04-Feb-1914

Date of Death: 15-May-1994

Profession: editor, journalist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Hazel Freeman Smith (née Brannon; February 4, 1914 – May 15, 1994) was a white American journalist and publisher, the owner and editor of four weekly newspapers in rural Mississippi, mostly in Holmes County.
Her newspapers included the Lexington Advertiser, the second oldest newspaper in the state.
She distinguished herself both in reporting and editorial writing, advocating for justice for African Americans in the county and the state.
In 1964 Smith was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing, largely for her writing about the Civil Rights Movement in the year of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
She received numerous other awards for her work as a publisher and editor.
A lifelong Baptist, Smith described herself as "just a little editor in a little spot.
A lot of other little editors in a lot of little spots is what helps make this country.
It's either going to help protect that freedom that we have, or else it's going to let that freedom slip away by default."