Courtland Milloy: Man of the Hour

A man of great talent and experience came by to drop knowledge on a class of News Writing
students at NC A&T State University last Wednesday.

Courtland Milloy, columnist for the Washington Post, along with many other accomplishments stopped by to explain to my class how important it is for this generation of African-American journalists to stand up and stand out from the crowd of journalists. Milloy explained how the number of black journalists are slowly diminishing along with the ability for the younger generation of writers to speak out when among other writers. Mr. Milloy encourages this generation of writers to challenge mainstream journalism with confidence! With Mr. Milloy's long list of credentials, students were all ears while he shared his advice.

Before Milloy began to speak, a young woman told us a story introducing him. She explained
his sense of humor and great knowledge but before she left she shared a question she posed to Milloy, “Are you a race man?” She then told us that he simply replied, “Yes.” Of course this stirred up a few questions from multiple students about what exactly a race man is.

Wickham, a columnist for USA Today, explained to the class that Milloy is a race man which he defined as a man with “a fire in your belly that keeps you pissed off”. It is apparent in Milloy's many published articles that he is a race man, being that most of his articles directly deal with issues that affect the lives of African-Americans. He defines a race man as one who “speaks out against put downs”. He also explained that a race man is one for his race and that not everyone can be one. Thus, the race man, or woman is a rare individual among the African-American race.

Courtland Milloy is a man of many accomplishments, and as young black writers, students like
us strive to reach his status in the world of journalism. His advice to us was very clear, to take on the
journalism world with something to say and to be able to say it without hesitation or fear. Milloy
reminded us that in the world of journalism there is no room for a “fear of people”.

Milloy expresses that he sees a generation of journalists who are afraid to speak up and learn or admit that they don't know something, especially African-American journalists. It must be frustrating to witness a generation of black journalists who are too quiet to be heard in the world of news. Two characteristics that Milloy heavily advised us to possess were “Self-control and persistence, but most importantly, self-control.”
Courtland Milloy is a man that many young journalists aspire to be, and it was an exceptional
experience to hear the stories and advice that he shared with the classroom.