Dorothy Butler Gilliam

At-a-Glance

First African-American female reporter at The Washington Post (1961).
Authored "Paul Robeson, All American" and "Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist's Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America."
Served as President of the National Association of Black Journalists (1993-1995).
Chaired the Board of Directors for the Robert Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (1985-1992).
Earned her master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Held fellowships at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University and the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.

Biography

Dorothy Butler Gilliam is an American journalist, author, and educator, recognized for her groundbreaking career in media and her advocacy for civil rights. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she began her journalism career as a secretary and then society reporter for the Louisville Defender. She later became a reporter for the Memphis Tri-State Defender, where she covered the Little Rock Nine school desegregation crisis in 1957.