A brief mention on the passing of Walter Cronkite, who is remembered as the "most trusted man in America." Like most people of the television era, he was thrust down our throats by his constant presence as a news anchor on CBS. He was a communicator who told the news of the day to our community and America. Unfortunately, he was the face of an industry that denied opportunity and coverage to the issues and concerns of Black America.
It was the powerful oratory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the brutality of the reactions to the Civil Rights workers that forced America to be confronted by its racism daily portrayed on the television screens of the world. This contradiction created the climate for change. Mr. Cronkite had to report what was obvious. Man's inhumanity to man was on the front pages of the news media of his day.
I remember Mr. Cronkite as a professional who performed his job within the confinds of his cultural upbringing. For that his family and friends should be thankful, he did his job well. He can now rest in peace.
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