Rowan, Carl Thomas
1925-2000 · Contribution: 1948-1999
Journalist; government official; columnist
Became the highest-ranking African American in the U.S. government as director of the United States Information Agency under President Lyndon Johnson, then spent more than three decades as one of the nation’s most widely syndicated Black newspaper columnists

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Quick facts
- Born
- 1925, Ravenscroft, Tennessee
- Active since
- 1948
- Category
- Press & Photography
- Best known for
- Highest-ranking Black official in U.S. government of his era; widely syndicated columnist
Impact on the world
Rowan moved between journalism and the highest levels of government, breaking barriers in both, then spent three decades as one of the nation's most widely read Black columnists.
Sources
- BlackPast.org
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