(C) Virginia Mercury This story was originally published by Virginia Mercury and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Journalist was trailblazer, mentor, paper’s racial conscience • Virginia Mercury [1] ['Roger Chesley', 'More From Author', 'April'] Date: 2024-04-04 Marvin L. Lake – journalist, Renaissance man, holder of many professional “firsts” – was made of decidedly sterner stuff. Otherwise, he couldn’t have withstood the racial slights and outright prejudice he fought after becoming The Virginian-Pilot’s first Black summer intern in 1966 and later, in 1969, its first Black reporter. He understood the long game, though: Rise through the newspaper ranks. Become a mentor to legions of young journalists – especially African Americans and others of color. Be a conduit between the paper and Hampton Roads’ Black community, which distrusted The Pilot for its biased depictions of Black people. They were tasks the Norfolk native relished in a career that eventually spanned 41 years at the newspaper. He and I worked together on The Pilot editorial page from my arrival in 2000 until his retirement in 2007. I edited his public editor columns during that period – with him often saying “I’m writing it in my head” as he busted deadlines. Lake, 80, died last week at his Norfolk home after a long illness. His professional “offspring,” some from as far away as California and Florida, returned to Norfolk on Tuesday. His funeral took place at a church across from Norfolk State University, where Lake had earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology in 1967. The roughly 200 mourners this week included a top magazine editor, a college educator and other media professionals. U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, a Norfolk Democrat, was among the politicians who attended. Marvin L. Lake – journalist, Renaissance man, holder of many professional “firsts” – was made of decidedly sterner stuff. – Roger Chesley Derek Dingle first met Lake in November 1979 when he became a copy aide, or assistant, at The Pilot, he said at Shiloh Baptist Church. “Marvin became my mentor at that moment,” Dingle said, and Lake encouraged him to report and write – though he sometimes endured Lake’s exacting, tough editing via a red pen. “I was close to tears!” Dingle said. It’s a lesson Dingle learned well. He’s been the top editor for years at Black Enterprise and has held other senior positions there. Herbert Lowe, onetime Pilot reporter and now a senior journalism lecturer at the University of Florida, told me Lake helped edit a piece he’d written long after Lowe had left Norfolk. It was an exceptional display of help to a former colleague. Kia Morgan Smith, who I interviewed by phone in Atlanta, called Lake a father figure. “It was his style, his presence. He really cared about young Black kids,” said Smith, who later worked at Black Enterprise. Lake’s mentees relayed stories of tough love, consistent support and even financial help. They noted his patience and the fact he rarely raised his voice in anger. Not surprisingly, Lake earned his share of professional accolades. Among them: In 1997, he developed and edited a newspaper series, “Church Street: What Was Lost,” and narrated and hosted an award-winning television documentary, “Church Street: Harlem of the South,” about the onetime Black hub in Norfolk. He was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in 2007. He also ended several prejudicial habits in the paper. As he wrote in his farewell column, a white reporter often peppered stories with comments from a “source close to the black community.” The source, Lake learned, “was a white man frequently critical of Blacks.” Treachery at its worst. It’s no exaggeration to say Marvin overhauled the coverage of The Pilot and altered the trajectory of the careers of many journalists. That’s a fitting epitaph. [END] --- [1] Url: https://virginiamercury.com/2024/04/04/journalist-was-trailblazer-mentor-papers-racial-conscience/ Published and (C) by Virginia Mercury Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/virginiamercury/