Alex Poinsett was born on January 27, 1926, in Chicago, and died on October 23, 2015.
He was an American magazine editor and author. He was the Senior Editor for Ebony magazine.
Alex attended McCosh elementary school and Englewood High School. He grew up in the Woodlawn community.
He was the third oldest in a family of six and the only boy. Poinsett was the son of Alexander A. Poinsett and Adele L. Poinsett.
When the war was over he enrolled at the University of Illinois (Champaign) and received a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Philosophy.
Alex was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, Tau chapter.
Poinsett started working at Johnson Publishing Company (JPC).
In the first seven years he was a writer for Jet magazine, Alex did 26 years as a writer and Senior Editor for Ebony magazine.
Working for JPC, Alex was an in-demand public speaker at colleges and university across the United States and completed extensive national and international travel in pursuit of stories impacting African Americans.
Alex’s excursions included trips to the White House, the Kremlin, several countries in Africa, Europe and South America.
He was one of the 44 founding members of the National Association of Black Journalists.
He was the author of five books, Alex received critical acclaim for the book “Walking with Presidents: Louis Martin and the Rise of Black Political Power.”
Poinsett served in the Navy in world war 2 and was stationed on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
Alex loved tennis, he was a lifetime member of the Chicago Prairie Tennis Club and the American Tennis Association and played in club tournaments across the country.
Chess, bridge and pool was among the many hobbies he enjoyed.
Alex could often be heard whistling a tune by the likes of Beethoven or Coltrane.
He was a member of the Unitarian-Universalist Association and made his home church the First Unitarian Church of Chicago.
He was active in many church for 40 plus years, on both a local and national level.
Alex Poinsett left behind, his daughter, sister Sadi White, son A. Pierre Poinsett, Sr. and wife Linda, grandson Alexis Poinsett, Jr., great-granddaughter Alexandria Poinsett, great-grandson Alexis Poinsett, nieces Pradhana White and Alexandria Banks, and nephews Michael White and Lewellyn Brown.
Alex Poinsett passed away from Alzheimer’s disease, at 89 years old on October 23, 2015.