Ethel Payne was featured on a USPS stamp

Ethel L. Payne (August 14, 1911 - May 28, 1991) was an award-winning African American journalist. Known as the "First Lady of the Black Press", she was a columnist, lecturer, and free-lance writer. She combined advocacy with journalism as she reported on the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. She became the first female African American commentator employed by a national network when CBS hired her in 1972. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent establishment of the executive branch of the United States Government (see ) responsible for providing postal service in the United States. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... A columnist is a journalist who produces a specific form of writing for publication called a column. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. ... Lecturer is the name given to university teachers in most of the English-speaking world (but not at most universities in the U.S. or Canada) who do not hold a professorship. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... This article is becoming very long. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... CBS (an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ...

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Payne began her journalism career rather unexpectedly while working as a hostess at an Army Special Services club in Japan, a position she had taken in 1948. She allowed a visiting reporter from the Chicago Defender to read her journal, which detailed her own experiences as well as those of African-American soldiers. Impressed, the reporter took the journal back to Chicago and soon Payne's observations were being used by the Defender, an African American newspaper with a national readership, as the basis for front-page stories. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... The Chicago Defender announces President Harry S. Trumans order in 1948 desegregating the United States Armed Forces. ...

In the early 1950s, Payne moved back to Chicago to work full-time for the Defender. After working there for two years she took over the paper's one-person bureau in Washington, D.C. During Payne's career, she covered several key events in the civil rights movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and desegregation at the University of Alabama in 1956, as well as the 1963 March on Washington. Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia. ... Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. ... The University of Alabama (also known as Alabama, UA or colloquially as Bama) is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (Redirected from 1963 March on Washington) Demonstrator at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a political rally that took place on August 28, 1963. ...

Payne earned a reputation as an aggressive journalist who asked tough questions. She once asked President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he planned to ban segregation in interstate travel. The President's angry response that he refused to support special interests made headlines and helped push civil rights issues to the forefront of national debate. Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (1861-1865) The majority of this article is about heads of states. ... This page is about Dwight D. Eisenhower. ...

In 1966, she traveled to Vietnam to cover African American troops, whose were involved in much of the fighting. She later accompanied Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on a six-nation tour of Africa. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

On May 28, 1991, at the age 79, Payne died of a heart attack. May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Biographical Data Sheet for Payne @ the National Press Club