Dorothy Gilliam sits with Martin Reynolds at the
Kapor Center in Oakland, CA on March 30, 2019.
It is not everyday that one has the chance to hear from
people who broke through barriers to become the first in their field. But, such
was the case last Saturday, March 30, when the Maynard Institute for Journalism
Education held a media event that featured Dorothy Gilliam, the first African-American,
female reporter at the Washington Post. The event was called 'A
Conversation with Dorothy Gilliam,” and as you might expect, some of the
experiences that Gilliam shared were not only informative, but
also quite moving. Gilliam discussed some of the challenging experiences she
had working at the paper and reporting on some of the civil rights protests
that happened in the American south during the height of the civil rights
struggles of the 1960’s.
Her appearance Saturday
at the Kapor Center in Oakland came at the end of her three-month book tour to
promote her new memoir called, “TRAILBLAZER: A Pioneering Journalist’s Fight
to Make the Media Look More Like America.” Those of us who attended the event
had a chance to ask her questions after the riveting discussion she had with the
Maynard Institute’s co-executive director, Martin Reynolds, who moderated the
event.
Having a photo taken with Dorothy Gilliam and
two of the East Palo Alto Center for Community Media’s board members after her
talk, made the event all the more memorable.
From left, EPACCM board members Elizabeth Jackson, Marie Davis and Henrietta J. Burroughs
stand with Dorothy Gilliam after her presentation at the Kapor Center on March 30, 2019.
stand with Dorothy Gilliam after her presentation at the Kapor Center on March 30, 2019.
