Personal:
Occupation: Columnist, lecturer, free lance writer
Former Occupations: First recipient, "Ethel L. Payne" Professorship in Journalism, Fisk
University, Nashville, Tennessee, Sept. 1982 -May, 1983;
Writer-in-residence, Jackson State University, Jackson, Mississippi, 1981;
Commentator, "Matters of Opinion" WBBM-CBS Radio, Chicago, 1978-1982;
Commentator, CBS Opinion Program, "Spectrum" 1972-1978;
Sengstacke Newspapers (Chicago Daily Defender, Courier Group,
Michigan Chronicle, Tri-State Defender). Affiliation included the period
1951-1978 as Feature Writer, Washington Correspondent, 1953-1973,
Associate Editor 1973-1978;
Ford Foundation Fellow in Educational Journalism, 1978,
Under the sponsorship of the Institute for Educational Leadership,
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.;
Staff Writer, AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education 1958-1962;
Assistant to the Vice Chairperson, Democratic National Committee,
1962-1966;
Consultant to the Social Security Administration, 1966;
Army Service Club Director, Tokyo, Japan-1948-1951
Special Assignments:
1955 - Asian-African Conference - Bandung, Indonesia, Reported from 11
other countries in Africa & Europe
1956-1963 - Continuous coverage of the Civil Rights Movement including
the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Birmingham, Selma,
the 1963 March on Washington and other events
1957 - Accompanied Vice President and Mrs. Richard Nixon to the
independence ceremonies at Accra, Ghana. Reported from 9 other
countries in Africa & Europe
1966-67 - Spent 3 months in Vietnam covering Black troops
1968 - World Council of Churches, Uppsala, Sweden
1969 - Six weeks in Nigeria covering the civil war with emphasis on the
refugees
1970 - Accompanied Secretary of State William Rogers and Mrs. Rogers
on their 10-nation tour of Africa
1971 - Emergency trip to Lagos, Nigeria on Special Air Force Plane to
return the remains of Whitney M. Young Jr., Executive Director
of the National Urban League, to the United States.
1971 - Invited by President Richard Nixon to accompany him and Mrs.
Nixon on Air Force One to internment services for Whitney Young
at Lexington, Kentucky.
1971 - Accompanied the official U.S. delegation to Monrovia, Liberia
for the funeral of President William V.S. Tubman
1972 - Guest of the Democratic Republic of Zaire for the First
Ordinary Congress of the Popular Revolution Movement
1972 - Apollo 17 Moon Launch, Cape Kennedy, Florida
1972 - Symposium on Civil Rights sponsored by former President
Lyndon B. Johnson - Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public
Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
1973 - Visit to the Peoples Republic of China
1975 - International Women's Year Conference, Mexico City
1975 - World Council of Churches, Nairobi, Kenya
1976 - Accompanied Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on
six-nation tour of Africa
1976 - (August) Exclusive interview with Democratic candidate
Jimmy Carter at Plains, Georgia
1976 - (October) Guest of the Government of Senegal for the
"Colloquium on Culture and Development" in honor of the
70th birthday of President Leopold Senghor
1977 - Guest of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
1980 - Mid-Decade Conference, International Women's Year
Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark
1982 - Tour of refugee camps in Somalia, Sudan, Zambia and
Zimbabwe under the sponsorship of Africare and the Board of Women's Ministries, United Methodist Church
1983 - (June) World Conference on Peace & Disarmament Prague, Czechoslovakia
1983 - (October) Study tour of Brazil
1983 - (November) 2nd Vienna Dialogue on Peace & Disarmament,
Vienna, Austria
1985 - Closing Conference of the UN Decade for Women, Nairobi, Kenya
Lectures & Speaking Engagements:
1974 - (March) Visiting lecturer, Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Ga.;
(May) Visiting lecturer, sponsorship, U.S. Embassy, Stockholm,
Sweden;
Commencement speaker, Xavier University of Louisiana;
Lecturer, Defense Information School, Fort Benjamin Harrison,
Indianapolis, Ind.;
(July) Luncheon speaker, National Navy Officer's Association, Dallas, Texas;
1975 - Commencement speaker, Bennett College, Greensboro, NC
1976 - Lecturer, School of Journalism, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor;
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
1978 - Lecturer, Suffolk Law School, Boston Massachusetts;
Speaker, Freedom Fund Dinner, NAACP, San Diego
1980 - Speaker, Urban League Dinner, Tucson, Arizona
1982 - Convocation Address, Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.
Honors & Awards:
1952 - First Prize, Illinois Press Association for series on adoptions
1953 - Honorable Mention, Heywood Broun Memorial Award for series on "Industry, USA"
1956 - "Third Annual World Understanding Award," Chicago Council
on Foreign Relations for coverage of the Asian-African Conference
1957 - Citation for Outstanding Reporting, Windy City Press Club, Chicago
1967 - Award for Vietnam report, Capital Press Club, Washington, D.C.;
Excellence in Journalism Award, African Methodist Episcopal Church;
"100 Outstanding Black Women" award, Operation PUSH, Chicago
1970 - 1980 - Citations, National Urban Coalition, National Association of Business & Professional Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, National Association of Black Journalists; Roosevelt University, Chicago, Freedom
Award
1979 - Author of "Roots, Rewards, Renewal," a study of Black Colleges in the United States. Funded by Delta Sigma Theta National Sorority and published through a grant made possible by George Johnson, President of the Johnson Products Co., Chicago, Ill.
1982 - (June 12th) Testimonial Dinner establishing the professorship at Fisk University, Washington, D.C.
1983 - (May) "Distinguished Service Award," Africare, Washington, D.C.
1985 - (Nov.) Award for International Reporting, Capital Press Club
Affiliations:
Life Member, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Life Member, Metropolitan Women's Democratic Club,
Washington, D.C. (Honored at Testimonial Luncheon, 1970)
Honorary member, Delta Sigma Theta National Sorority
Member, Advisory Board, WHMM, Channel 32, Howard University
Member, Advisory Board, Essence Magazine
Trustee, Experiment for International Living
Addendum:
Elected to the board of Africare, June, 1985.
Elected to the Executive Committee, Capital Press Club, November, 1985.
Selected as one of the "Top 100 Black Business & Professional Women of 1985," Dollars & Sense Magazine, during the biennial convention of Delta Sigma Theta, Dallas, Texas.
May 23, 1983 - Africare Distinguished Service Award
June 6, 1987 - Transafrica African Freedom Award
1987 - Selected as one of 12 outstanding black journalists for the Miller Brewing Co. "Calendar of Greats."