Rev. Dr. Everett C. Parker, 102, White Plains Resident

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The Rev. Everett C. Parker, who won a landmark broadcasting case and led a civil rights crusade to hold television and radio stations accountable for presenting racially biased programming and for failing to hire blacks and other minorities, died Sept. 13 in White Plains. He was 102.

The Rev. Everett C. Parker, who won a landmark broadcasting case and led a civil rights crusade to hold television and radio stations accountable for presenting racially biased programming and for failing to hire blacks and other minorities, died Sep
Photo Credit: *The National Hispanic Media Coalition*

Sandra Diamond Fox

09/30/2015 3:30 p.m.

A memorial service for Dr. Parker will be at The United Church Church of Christ in the Highlands at 11 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Church is at 35 Bryant Ave.

As the civil rights movement gained momentum in the 1960s, Dr. Parker, a minister and director of communications for the 1.75-million-member United Church of Christ, began to investigate the performances of radio and television stations in the South, according to The New York Times.

Parker, who had worked in broadcasting, asked the National Association of Broadcasters to issue guidelines to give blacks a more positive presence on television, but the industry group refused, the story said.

Parker continued to petition for the removal of the broadcast license for WLBT in Jackson, Miss. until Judge Burger, the future chief justice of the United States, ruled in favor of Parker. It was the first time an F.C.C license had been revoked due to failing to serve the public interest, The New York Times reported.

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