This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | About 60 items |
Abstract | A. Alexander Morisey was an African American journalist from North Carolina. He wrote for the Twin City Sentinel (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and the Winston-Salem Journal in the early 1950s and later was public relations manager of the New York Times. The collection contains articles and speeches written by and about A. Alexander Morisey. Morisey's articles are mostly on the subject of African American affairs in Winston-Salem, N.C. There are also a few letters relating to professional matters. |
Creator | Morisey, A. Alexander (Alfred Alexander), d. 1979. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English. |
Processed by: John Foster, May 2002
Encoded by: John Foster, May 2002
Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, October 2010
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
A. Alexander (Alfred Alexander) Morisey was an African American journalist from North Carolina. He graduated in 1934 from Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., where he was editor of the Shaw University Journal, the student newspaper. He taught for five years, 1934-1939, in Wilson, N.C.; was director of publicity for Bennett College in Greensboro, N.C.; and was a reporter for the Norfolk Journal and Guide. In 1949-1955, he wrote for the Twin City Sentinel (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and the Winston-Salem Journal, where he was responsible for putting together a weekly page of news about the African American community in Winston-Salem.
After Morisey left Winston-Salem, he was director of special publicity for the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia, 1955-1962. From 1962 through 1967, he was director of public relations for the Commission on Human Relations in Philadelphia. In 1968-1969, Morisey was director of public relations for Howard University, and, from 1969 until 1973, he was public relations manager for the New York Times.
For professional purposes, Morisey used the name A. A. Morisey or A. Alexander Morisey. In an essay reflecting on his career, Morisey wrote that he had "...started my writing career while at Shaw as A. Alexander Morisey which seemed like an impressive way to keep my Negro and private identity as Alex Morisey but, when I got into the business professionally I wrote my byline as A. A. Morisey. Thus I hoped to avoid being addressed by my first name as southerners were apt to do which was an insult to Negroes in that period."
Morisey died of cancer in 1979.
Back to TopThe collection contains letters of A. Alexander Morisey, African American journalist, as well as articles and speeches written by and about A. Alexander Morisey. Morisey's articles are mostly about African American life in Winston-Salem, N.C. Many of the articles are from the Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel's Sunday news page about African Americans, which Morisey edited. Also included are a letter, 1946, about the terms of his employment with the Norfolk Journal and Guide; a letter, 1949, about his employment with the Winston-Salem newspapers; and a letter, 1951, requesting information for a news story.
Back to TopThe collection contains letters of A. Alexander Morisey, African American journalist, as well as articles and speeches written by and about A. Alexander Morisey. Morisey's articles are mostly about African American life in Winston-Salem, N.C. Many of the articles are from the Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel's Sunday news page about African Americans, which Morisey edited. Also included are a letter, 1946, about the terms of his employment with the Norfolk Journal and Guide; a letter, 1949, about his employment with the Winston-Salem newspapers; and a letter, 1951, requesting information for a news story.
Folder 1 |
Letters, 1946-1951 |
Folder 2 |
Articles and speeches, 1950-1972 |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-5038/1 |
Newspaper pages and clippings, mostly from the Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel, 1950-1955 |