P. L. Prattis was born on April 27, 1895, in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the
Hampton Institute from 1912 to 1915 and graduated in 1916 from the
Ferris Institute. He served as a battalion sergeant major in the
U.S. Army during
World War I, headquartered in the Company 813 Pioneer Infantry, stationed in France for nearly a year in 1918 and 1919. He was honorably discharged from his duties on July 23, 1919. Prattis began his journalism career in 1919 as the editor of the newly formed
Michigan State News in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1921, he moved to
Chicago, Illinois, to become the city editor of the
Chicago Defender, which was the most influential
African-American weekly newspaper in the country at the beginning of World War I. In 1923, Prattis was hired as the city editor of the
Associated Negro Press in Chicago. In this position, for which he travelled internationally, he interviewed prominent world figures, such as: John F. Kennedy, Haile Selassie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Malcolm X, Jackie Robinson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Richard Nixon, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Thurgood Marshall, Elijah Muhammad, Langston Hughes, Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others. During his time at
Chicago Defender Prattis curated and founded and was executive editor the first known black magazine called
"The Light and Heebie Jeebies". Almost 20 years before
Ebony Magazine and 26 years before
Jet Magazine. In 1947, Prattis was unanimously granted membership in the U.S. Senate and House press galleries by the executive committee of the Periodical Correspondents Association. That year he was the first African-American journalist permitted to enter the
United States Congress via the
Periodical Press Galleries of the United States Congress. Prattis became the
Courier's managing editor in 1948, and then executive editor in 1956. He remained executive editor until 1965, retiring after
John H. Sengstacke purchased the ailing paper. Prattis was honored posthumously for his part in African-American media and service to the
Pittsburgh Courier at the 100th anniversary celebration for the
Courier. Prattis has a legacy in the history of black press, Charles Simmons goes to explain how, “The importance and effectiveness of the black press should not be discussed without mentioning Percival Prattis. Although he was not the only black newspaper editor fighting against injustices during
World War II, the [
Pittsburgh]
Courier was the leader in this struggle.” == Personal life and family ==