He covered civil rights in the South for The New York Times from 1958 – 1964. As the Times Southern correspondent, he covered public school desegregation, the Sit-In Movement, the Freedom Rides and voter registration drives throughout the region. He also reported the desegregation of public universities in South Carolina and Alabama; the Ole Miss riot; the assassination of Medgar Evers; demonstrations to open public accommodations in Albany, Ga., and Birmingham, Ala.; and the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer. From 1968 until his retirement in 1990, Sitton was editor of The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C., and vice president and editorial director of The News and Observer Publishing Co. After retiring, he served as a senor lecturer at Emory University (1991 – 1994); board member of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation (1994 – 1997); and a board member of the Counselors of Oxford College of Emory University (1993 – 2001). Born in Atlanta, Ga., in 1925, Sitton grew up on a farm. He holds a degree from Emory University. He received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for commentary and the 1991 George Polk Career Award. Sitton now lives in Oxford, Ga., with his wife, Eva. They have four children.
Claude Sitton
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