Aubespin, Mervin R.
(born: 1937)Born in Louisiana, Mervin Aubespin in 1967 became the first African American to hold the post of news artist at The Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville, KY. He joined the newsroom staff during the 1968 Civil Rights unrest in Louisville. Regarded as an expert on racism and the media, Aubespin is a past president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and was given the Ida B. Wells Award for his efforts to bring minorities into the field of journalism. Aubespin was also the founder of the Louisville Association of Black Communicators. He was awarded the Distinguished Service to Journalism Award in 1991, given by the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communications (ASJMC). He was a 1995 Inductee into the University of Kentucky School of Journalism Hall of Fame. Aubespin retired from The Courier Journal newspaper in 2002. For more see P. Platt "Keeping the faith: on Merv Aubespin's retirement," The Courier Journal, 08/11/2002, Forum section, p. 03D.
