Lutrelle "Lu" Palmer called the godfather of Chicago black political activism was born March 28, 1922, in Newport News, Virginia. Palmer received a journalism degree from Virginia Union University in 1942 and a master's degree from Syracuse University. Palmer became a journalist when he arrived in Chicago in 1950 with a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.
Palmer came to Chicago in 1950 as a reporter for the Chicago Defender. He wrote for other newspapers, including the Chicago Daily News, where he also served as a syndicated columnist and editor for the Nashville-based Tri-State Defender. He founded the Black X-Press Info-Paper in Chicago. Sometimes Palmer's positions caused him to quit or lose a job. Illinois Bell canceled its sponsorship of Palmer's twelve-year-old radio show in 1983 when he became an outspoken supporter of Harold Washington, who, with Palmer's help, became Chicago's first African American mayor.
He was a recruiter, organizer and preceptor for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest from 1970 to 1990. As a community activist, he founded the Chicago Black United Communities in 1979 and the Black Independent Political Organization in 1981, and served as chairman of the Extended Services Program for the Group Living Facilities for Boys in 1998. "The Panther with a pen" spent fifty years galvanizing and informing the black community as a reporter, syndicated columnist, newspaper publisher and radio commentator. From 1983 until his retirement in 2001, Palmer hosted an issues-oriented talk show. He and his wife, Jorja English Palmer, resided on Chicago's South Side and had seven children. Lutrelle Palmer passed away on September 12, 2004.
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