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data, artifacts, and electronic records such as emails or databases.
Prepared by archival staff, finding aids provide a history of the person or organization that produced the collection, an
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Finding aids are used by researchers to determine whether materials within a collection may be relevant to their research.
While not exhaustive, finding aids help researchers identify the particular boxes or folders that may hold items of interest.
Descriptive Summary
Abstract:
Herb Frazier, an African American journalist based in the Lowcountry, has reported and edited for various newspapers in South
Carolina and elsewhere since 1972. Frazier has been active in professional journalism associations and in education initiatives
for minority journalism.
The collection includes materials related to the personal and professional life of Herb Frazier. A small portion of the collection
contains biographical, educational, and other personal information. The bylines series contains published work spanning Frazier's
career from 1972-2006, including bylines, proofs, and photographs. Bylines include stories written by Herb Frazier at the
The State, The Post and Courier, The Charlotte Observer, and The York Observer. The subject files, which compose the largest portion of the collection, contain articles, interview notes, correspondence,
source notes, and other written material chiefly gathered by Herb Frazier in the course of his story research. Major topics
include higher education in South Carolina, with a focus on The Citadel (including hazing incidents), Medical University of
South Carolina (MUSC), and University of South Carolina; education reform in the middle grades; and race relations. Also included
are various regional topics, including court cases, law enforcement issues, and the annexation of James Island. The professional
activities series includes organizational materials, documents, event invitations, and correspondence related to various journalism
associations, conferences, educational outreach, and travel. The minority journalism series includes correspondence, conference
material, organizational planning documents, programs, and other material related to the National Association of Black Journalists
and its regional affiliate, South Carolina Association of Black Journalists. Also includes materials related to college and
high school workshops on minority journalism as well as articles and printed materials regarding the topic of minority journalism.
Title:
Herb Frazier Papers, 1972 - 2006
Creator:
Frazier, Herb, 1950-.
Repository:
Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston
Herb Frazier, an African American journalist based in the Lowcountry, has reported and edited for various newspapers in South
Carolina and elsewhere since 1972. Frazier has been active in professional journalism associations and in minority journalism
education initiatives.
Herbert Lee Frazier, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, was born November 7, 1950. Frazier attended the C. A. Brown
High School in downtown Charleston and later graduated, in 1969, from William T. Sampson High school at the United States
Naval Base in Guatanamo Bay, Cuba. He then attended Allen University from 1969 to 1970. He also attended the University
of South Carolina from 1970 to 1972 and again in 1984. In 1983, he completed the selective Editing Program for Minority Journalists.
Frazier was a Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan from 1992 to 1993.
Herb Frazier's professional career began in May 1972 at The News and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, where he worked on obituaries, reporting, and photography. Nearing the end of that year,
he joined The State, where he was responsible for police reporting and general assignments. In 1974, he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where
he reported for the Times Picayune. In 1975, he returned to Columbia, South Carolina to work for The State, reporting on rural South Carolina. In 1979, Frazier was appointed to a one-person bureau covering Newberry, South Carolina,
and the surrounding counties. With his promotion to assistant news editor in 1982, Frazier became the first African American
to cross management lines at The State.
Leaving The State in 1984, Frazier then edited for The Dallas Times Herald in Dallas, Texas and The York Observer in York County, South Carolina. In 1988, he returned to Charleston and briefly copy edited for the News and Courier, which later merged with the Evening Post to become the Post and Courier. At the Post and Courier, Frazier was promoted to senior writer, a position he held until 2006. In this position, his primary focus was higher education,
but he reported on a number of major events and special assignments and chaired a committee on improving coverage of racial
minorities and women.
Throughout his career, Frazier has been active in various professional associations and education initiatives for minority
journalism. He was the founding president of the South Carolina Coastal Association of Black Journalists, a regional chapter
of the National Association of Black Journalists. He founded and directed summer high school journalism workshops at local
institutions as well as nationwide.
Frazier has been honored for his reporting and role in the profession. He was named the 1990 Journalist of the Year in South
Carolina by the South Carolina Press Association, and was the first African American to receive this honor. In 1994, he was
named to the Hall of Fame for Region IV of the National Association of Black Journalists.
After leaving the Post and Courier, Frazier was a media workshop speaker for the United States Department of State, where
he spoke in Sierra Leone, Zambia, Ghana, Guyana, and Suriname. As of 2010, Frazier is a contract speech writer and editor
for the United States Agency for International Development and freelances.
Frazier has been active in the Charleston community, serving as a board member for both the Lowcountry Chapter of the Society
of Professional Journalists and the Avery Institute for African American History and Culture.
Frazier has three daughters, Angela Frazier Thomas, Amanda Frazier, and Adrienne Frazier. He is married to the Adrienne Troy-Frazier,
formerly of Chicago, Ill.
Employment History
May 1972 - December 1972
Reporter, The News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina)
January 1973 - April 1974
Reporter, The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
April 1974 - September 1975
Reporter, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana)
September 1975 - January 1979
General Assignments Reporter, The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
January 1979 - January 1983
Bureau Chief, The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
January 1983 - February 1984
Reporter/Editor Trainee, The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
February 1984 - April 1985
Assistant News Editor, The State (Columbia, South Carolina)
April 1985 - July 1985
Copy Editor, The Dallas Times Herald (Dallas, Texas)
July 1985 - September 1986
Assistant Night City Editor, The Dallas Times Herald (Dallas, Texas)
September 1986 - March 1988
Editor, The York Observer (a tri-weekly edition of The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina)
March 1988 - October 1988
Copy Editor, The News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina) [later The Post and Courier]
October 1, 1991
The News and Courier and The Evening Post merged to form The Post and Courier.
October 1988 - July 2006
Senior Writer, The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina)
June 2006 - September 2009
Media Workshop Speaker, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs in the Office of Global Issues
and Communication: Freetown, Sierra Leone (June 2006); Lusaka, Zambia (September to October 2007); Accra, Ghana (August 2008);
and Guyana and Suriname (September 2009)
December 2008 - Present (2010)
Contract Speech Writer and Editor, United States Agency for International Development
July 2006 - Present (2010)
Freelance Writer, Public Relations Consultant, and Writing Coach
Nov. 2010 - Present (2012)
Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (Charleston, South Carolina)
The collection includes materials related to the personal and professional life of Herb Frazier.
A small portion of the collection contains biographical, educational, and other personal information related to Herb Frazier
and his family.
The bylines series contains published work spanning Frazier's career from 1972-2006, including bylines, proofs, and photographs.
Bylines include stories written by Herb Frazier at the The State, Post and Courier, The Charlotte Observer, and The York Observer. Also includes samples of The Times-Picayune, The Dallas Times Herald, and The York Observer, which contain sections that were edited by Frazier.
The subject files, which compose the largest portion of the collection, contain articles, interview notes, correspondence,
source notes, and other written material chiefly gathered by Herb Frazier in the course of his story research. Major topics
include higher education in South Carolina, with a focus on The Citadel, Medical University of South Carolina, and University
of South Carolina; education reform in the middle grades; and race relations. Also included are various regional topics, including
court cases, law enforcement issues, and the annexation of James Island.
The professional activities series includes organizational materials, documents, event invitations, and correspondence related
to various journalism associations, conferences, educational outreach, and travel. Frazier's work-related travel to Germany
and Africa is represented as well as his time as a Journalism Fellows at the University of Michigan.
The minority journalism series includes correspondence, conference material, organizational planning documents, programs,
and other material related to the National Association of Black Journalists and its regional affiliate, South Carolina Association
of Black Journalists. Also includes materials related to college and high school workshops for minority journalism that were
led or supported by Frazier, as well as articles and printed material regarding the topic of minority journalism.
The collection contains a number of publications that were collected by Herb Frazier in the course of his professional and
personal life.
The bylines series contains Herb Frazier's published work, including bylines, proofs, and photographs that span his career
from 1972-2006. Bylines include stories written by Herb Frazier at the The State, Post and Courier, The Charlotte Observer, and The York Observer. As the Newberry Bureau Chief under The State, Frazier authored many articles that were published under the moniker "Newberry Bureau." The Newberry Bureau articles and those specifically published under the byline "Herb Frazier" have been pulled and integrated into this bylines series, organized chronologically.
To illustrate Frazier's work as a reporter and section editor, samples have been retained from The Times-Picayune, The Dallas Times Herald, and The York Observer.
During his tenure at The State, Frazier worked on obituaries. To reflect this work, a sample of obituary pages, published during his early employment at
The State, have been retained.
Box 1 Folder 13-23
Frazier Bylines, 1972-1980
Box 2 Folder 1-12
Frazier Bylines, 1981-1990
Box 3 Folder 1-11
Frazier Bylines, 1990-1999
Box 4 Folder 1-13
Frazier Bylines, 2000-2006 and undated
Box 5 Folder 1-15
Frazier Proofs, circa 1970s-2001
Box 5 Folder 16
Frazier Drafts and Edits, circa 1970s-2000s
Box 5 Folder 17
Frazier as Reporter: The Times-Picayune, 1974
Box 5 Folder 18-20
Frazier as Section Editor: The Dallas Times Herald, 1985-1986
Box 5 Folder 21
Frazier as Section Editor: The York Observer, 1986-1987
These subject files, which compose the largest portion of the collection, contain articles, interview notes, correspondence,
source notes, and other written material chiefly gathered by Herb Frazier in the course of his story research. Major topics
include higher education in South Carolina, with a focus on The Citadel, Medical University of South Carolina, and University
of South Carolina; education reform in the middle grades; and race relations. Also included are various regional topics,
including court cases, law enforcement issues, and the annexation of James Island.
This series also contains files that appear to be on topics of general interest to Frazier, such as celebrities, major news
events, and international coverage.
Where possible, original folder titles have been retained.
Box 6 Folder 1
Adult Illiteracy
Box 6 Folder 2
Africa, general
Box 6 Folder 3
African Americans in Charleston
Box 6 Folder 4
America's Doomsday Project
Box 6 Folder 5
American Presidents
Box 6 Folder 6
Astronauts and the Space Program
Box 6 Folder 7
Athletes
Box 6 Folder 8
Atkins, Joe
Box 6 Folder 9
Bailey, Persephone
Box 6 Folder 10
Baptist College: Back to Campus
Box 6 Folder 11
Benedict College
Box 6 Folder 12
Black Churches
Box 6 Folder 13
Black Education and Employment: Academic Publications
Box 6 Folder 14
Black Health
Box 6 Folder 15
Black Issues in Higher Education
Box 6 Folder 16
Blacks in Higher Education
Box 6 Folder 17
Blacks in Television and Film
Box 6 Folder 18
Bosnia
Box 6 Folder 19
Browne, Elmore and Fielding, Herb
Box 6 Folder 20
Catholic Student Center
Box 6 Folder 21
Celebrities
Box 6 Folder 22
Central America
Box 6 Folder 23
Carter, William
Box 6 Folder 24
Charleston Air Force Base: C-17's
Box 6 Folder 25
Charleston Arts
Box 6 Folder 26
Charleston Citywide Local Development Corporation
Box 6 Folder 27
Charleston County Human Services Commission
Box 6 Folder 28
Charleston County School District
Box 6 Folder 29
Charleston Crime
Box 6 Folder 30
Charleston Crime Statistics: Race-related
Box 6 Folder 31
Charleston Snow Storm, 1989
Box 6 Folder 32
Church Burnings
Box 6-7 Folder 33, 1-2
The Citadel
Box 7 Folder 3
The Citadel: Back to Campus
Box 7 Folder 4
The Citadel: The Brigadier
Box 7 Folder 5
The Citadel: Byrd, Berra
Box 7 Folder 6
The Citadel: Faulkner, Shannon
Box 7 Folder 7
The Citadel: Hazing
Box 7 Folder 8
The Citadel: Spending
Box 7 Folder 9
The Citadel: Stockdale, James B.
Box 7 Folder 10-11
Civil Rights
Box 7 Folder 12
Claflin College
Box 7 Folder 13
Claver, Peter
Box 7 Folder 14
Clemson University
Box 7 Folder 15
Clemson University: News Releases
Box 7 Folder 16
College Cost
Box 7 Folder 17
College of Charleston: Back to Campus
Box 7 Folder 18
Commission on the Impact of Slavery and Discrimination Act
Box 7 Folder 19
Coppola, Frank
Box 7 Folder 20
Cuba
Box 7 Folder 21
Dredging Accident
Box 7 Folder 22
Education
Box 7 Folder 23
Education: Education for Democracy
Box 7 Folder 24
Education: Georgia
Box 7 Folder 25
Education: Higher Education - Articles
Box 7 Folder 26
Education: Higher Education - John Norton's Project
Box 7 Folder 27-31
Education: Reform
Box 8 Folder 1
Education: Reform - Charleston County
Box 8 Folder 2-4
Education: Reform - Chattanooga Public Schools
Box 8 Folder 5
Education: Reform - Mentoring
Box 8 Folder 6-7
Education: Reform - Middle Grades
Box 8 Folder 8
Education: Reform - Tennessee
Box 8 Folder 9-11
Education: Reform - Tracking
Box 8 Folder 12
Erskine College
Box 8 Folder 13
Faculty Salary
Box 8 Folder 14
Federal Election Commission
Box 8 Folder 15
Glover, Mable
Box 8 Folder 16
Gullah
Box 8 Folder 17
Gullah/Geechee Heritage Act
Box 8 Folder 18
Gumbel, Bryant
Box 9 Folder 1
Health Care Reform
Box 9 Folder 2
Higher Education and Supercomputers
Box 9 Folder 3
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Box 9 Folder 4-5
Hurricane Hugo
Box 9 Folder 6-8
James Island: Annexation
Box 9 Folder 9
James Island: Annexation - City of Charleston Budget, 2002
Box 9 Folder 10
James Island: Annexation - Water/Sewer Lawsuit
Box 9 Folder 11
Johns Island: Nursing Home Closing
Box 9 Folder 12
Key, Willie vs. City of Charleston Housing Authority
Box 9 Folder 13
Lennon, John: Assassination
Box 9 Folder 14
Liberia
Box 9 Folder 15
Local Politics (Charleston Area)
Box 9 Folder 16
Macedonia Baptist Church vs. Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Box 9 Folder 17
Mansfield Business College
Box 9 Folder 18
Media in Juvenile Court
Box 9 Folder 19
Medical System: South Carolina
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Articles
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Back to Campus
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Ball, Austin, M.D. - University Medical Centers
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Black Grants
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Correspondence
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Dean's Account
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Fudenberg, Hugh, M.D.
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Health Sciences Foundation
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Hospital Strike
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): McCurdy, Layton
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Plane
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Roper/MUSC Hearing - Videocassettes, 1995
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Ross, Paul, M.D.
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Salaries
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): School Default Rates
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Spent Fuel Program
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): Spinal Cord
Box 10
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC): University Medical Associates - Salaries
Box 11
Missing Organs
Box 11
NAACP: Charleston Branch
Box 11
NAACP: General
Box 11
NAACP: Glover, Bill
Box 11
NAACP: IRS
Box 11
NAACP: Youth Entrepreneurial Institute
Box 11
NATO
Box 11
Navy: USS Pinckney
Box 11
Navy: Base Closings
Box 11
Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program
Box 11
Oklahoma Bombing
Box 11
Olympics, 1996
Box 11
Parker, Etheyln M.
Box 11
Penn Center (St. Helena Island)
Box 11
Prostate Cancer
Box 11
Pinder, William vs. Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care Corporation
Box 11
Political Prisoners
Box 11
Poverty
Box 11
Prostate Cancer
Box 11
Public Figures: African Americans
Box 11
Racial Identity: Academic Publications
Box 11
Race Relations
Box 12
Roper Nursing Center
Box 12
Rwanda
Box 12
Segregation, circa 1992
Box 12
September 11, 2001 and Aftermath
Box 12
Sierra Leone
Box 12
Simmons, Philip
Box 12
Simpson, O.J.: People vs. O.J. Simpson, 1995 and 2000
Box 12
South Carolina: Economics
Box 12
South Carolina: Miscellaneous Articles
Box 12
South Carolina: State Employee Salaries
Box 12
South Carolina Aquarium
Box 12
South Carolina Commission for the Blind
Box 12
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Box 12
South Carolina Department of Public Safety: Rose, Boykin
Box 12
South Carolina Hospital Association: Risk Management Steering Committee
Box 12
South Carolina Law Enforcement: Use of Force Cases
Box 12
South Carolina State College
Box 12
South Carolina State College: Educational Foundation Audit
Box 12
Stice, Richard, M.D.
Box 12
Textile Industry
Box 12
Tylenol Poisoning, 1982
Box 13
University of South Carolina
Box 13
University of South Carolina: Holderman, James
Box 13
University of South Carolina: Palms, John
Box 13
University of South Carolina: Salaries
Box 13
University of South Carolina: Spending, 1989-1990
Box 13
Wadmalaw Church: Lawsuit
Box 13
Walters, Leon vs. Charleston County Sheriff's Department
The professional activities series includes organizational materials, documents, event invitations, and correspondence related
to various journalism associations, conferences, educational outreach, and travel. Frazier's work-related travel to Germany
and Africa is represented, including issues of The Mail and Guardian and other newspapers that he collected during his journeys. These materials also reflect Frazier's time as a Journalism
Fellows at the University of Michigan.
Box 14
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Box 14
Appointment Book
Box 14
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC): Southeast Colloquium
Box 14
Avery Institute for African American History and Culture
Box 14
Avery Research Center
Box 14
Contracts
Box 14
Carolina Caribbean Association
Box 14
Center for Foreign Journalists
Box 14
Columbia University: Institute for Research in African American Studies
Box 14
Conference Badges and Pins
Box 14
Conferences and Workshops
Box 14
Constituency for Africa
Box 14
Contacts
Box 14
Correspondence: Invitations and Events
Box 14
Correspondence: Professional, 1970s-1999 and undated
Box 14
Education Writers Association
Box 14
Frazier Speeches
Box 14
Journalism: Legal and Ethical Issues
Box 14
Journalism Fellowship Programs: Japan
Box 14
Journalism Fellowships: Applications
Box 14
Journalism Workshops: Garrett High School - Mentors Program
Box 15
Merger: The News and Courier and The Evening Post, 1991
Box 15
Michigan Journalism Fellows
Box 15
Michigan: Ann Arbor News, 1993
Box 15
Michigan: Ann Arbor Observer, 1992-1993
Box 15
Post and Courier: Encoding Technology and the Internet
Box 15
Press Associations
Box 15
Resumes
Box 15
Society of Professional Journalists
Box 15
South Carolina Press Association (SCPA)
Box 15
Southern Regional Education Board: Seminar for Higher Education Reports
Box 15
Staff Humor
Box 15
Staff Newspapers: Late Run, 1979-1984
Box 15
Staff Newspapers: The Post Network, 1990 and 1995
Box 15
Suggested Readings
Box 15
Travel: General
Box 15
Travel: Africa and Caribbean
Box 16
Travel: Africa - The Mail and Guardian
Box 15
Travel: Africa - Various African Newspapers, 1996-2000
The minority journalism series includes correspondence, conference material, organizational planning documents, programs,
and other material related to the National Association of Black Journalists and its regional affiliate, South Carolina Association
of Black Journalists, which Herb Frazier helped to found. Also includes programs, applications, and workshop presentations
related to the college and high school workshops for minority journalism that were led or supported by Frazier, as well as
articles and printed material regarding the topic of minority journalism.
Box 17
African American Newspapers and Clippings
North Carolina: Winston-Salem Chronicle, 1986
South Carolina: Black News, 1995-1998
South Carolina: The Charleston Chronicle, 1992-1998
South Carolina: The Coastal Times, 1992-1995
South Carolina: Fine Print News, 1985
South Carolina: The Gullah Sentinel, 1998
South Carolina: The Johnsonian, 1987
South Carolina: South Carolinian, 1987
South Carolina: View South News, 1985
Texas: Dallas Post Tribune, 1985
Texas: Dallas Weekly, 1986
Box 18
American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA) Foundation: Minority Fellowship, 1983
Box 18
Conferences and Workshops for Minority Journalists
Box 18
Black Leadership Committee: Unification March
Box 18
Institute for Journalism Education: Editing Program for Minority Journalists
Box 18
Journalism Workshops for Minority Students: College
Box 18
Journalism Workshops for Minority Students: High School
Box 18
Minority Business Directory
Box 18
Minority Journalists
Box 18
Minority Newspaper Scholarship
Box 18-20
National Association of Black Journalists
Includes correspondence, conferences, conventions, publications, and membership information regarding the National Association
of Black Journalists.
Box 20
South Carolina Black Journalists
Box 20
South Carolina Black Journalists: Directory, 1996
Box 21
South Carolina Coastal Association of Black Journalists
Includes conferences, programs, newsletters, correspondence, meeting minutes, membership information, and other administrative
materials regarding the South Carolina Coastal Association of Black Journalists, a regional chapter of the National Association
of Black Journalists.
These publications, including issues of Black Issues in Higher Education, were collected by Herb Frazier in the course of his professional and personal life.
The nature of the Avery Research Center's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may
be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Avery Research Center claims only physical ownership
of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright
law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of
copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be
fully credited with the source.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Herb Frazier Papers, Avery Research Center, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA.
Processing Information
Processed by Jessica Farrell, Melissa Bronheim, Amanda Ross, and Liz Vaughan, May 2010
