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Everett Parker

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Reverend
Everett Carlton Parker
Born(1913-01-17)January 17, 1913
Chicago, Illinois
DiedSeptember 17, 2015(2015-09-17) (aged 102)
White Plains, New York
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationUniversity of Chicago
Occupation(s)Media activist and minister
Spouse
Geneva Jones
​
​
(m. 1939; died 2004)​
ChildrenRuth Weiss, Eunice Kolczun (daughters)
Rev. Truman E. Parker (son)

Everett Carlton Parker (January 17, 1913 – September 17, 2015) was an American media activist and ordained minister of the United Church of Christ.[1][2][3]

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Parker attended the University of Chicago. Upon graduation in 1935, he spent a year with the Works Progress Administration, then another with the radio station WJBW. After returning to his hometown for a job as an advertiser, Parker enrolled at the Chicago Theological Seminary, earning a Ph.D in 1943. He reentered the media world with a stint at NBC in New York, then taught at Yale Divinity School from 1945 to 1957. He was the Director of the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ from 1954 to 1983.[4]

He filed a successful petition to deny licensing renewal of television station WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. The station had a poor record with regards to the civil rights of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement.[5]

Dozens of times both the FCC and US Congress heard testimony by Parker concerning the maintenance of equal-time provisions and fairness in the broadcasting industry.[6]

I want them to remember that I was a guy who fought like the devil for the rights of minorities.
— Everett C. Parker, Broadband & Social Justice interview, 2012[4]

Parker was also involved in film and television. He hosted the 30-minute religious television program Stained Glass Windows. It ran from 1948-49 on the ABC Television network. He produced Six American Families in 1977, a PBS television series.

Each year, "Everett C Parker Lecture" takes place in Washington. The event is held to promote telecommunications equity and is sponsored by the Benton Foundation.[6]

Personal life

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He was married to Geneva Jones from 1939 to the time of her death in 2004. They had three children, Ruth Weiss, Eunice Kolczun, and Truman E. Parker.[4] Everett Parker died at the age of 102 in a White Plains, New York hospital.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Larkman, Connie (January 15, 2013). "Celebrating the legacy of Everett Parker on his 100th birthday". United Church of Christ. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  2. ^ "Everett Parker, 1913-2015". PBS - Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly - Headlines. September 18, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  3. ^ Nichols, John (17 January 2013). "John Nichols: Father of media reform, Everett C. Parker, turns 100". The Capital Times. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  4. ^ a b c McFadden, Robert D. (September 18, 2015). "Everett C. Parker, Who Won Landmark Fight Over Media Race Bias, Dies at 102". New York Times. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015. Alt URL
  5. ^ "The FCC & Censorship: Legendary Media Activist Everett Parker on the Revocation of WLBT's TV License in the 1960s for Shutting Out Voices of the Civil Rights Movement". Democracy Now!. March 6, 2008. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  6. ^ a b c Schudel, Matt (September 19, 2015). "Everett C. Parker, champion of fair broadcasting practices, dies at 102". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
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