Dorothy Butler Gilliam’s ‘Trailblazer’: The first black female reporter at the Washington Post tells her story
She could not eat in local restaurants, she could not stay in traditional lodgings on the road, and she often had panic attacks on the way to work, fearing the day to come. But Gilliam persevered and helped open up the Post, and all U.S. journalism, to a larger world.
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Trailblazer
A Pioneering Journalist’s Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America
By Dorothy Butler Gilliam
Center Street. 291 pp. $27
Reviewed by Yasmeen Wafai
Imagine being a journalist trying to finish a story on deadline. Sounds stressful, right? Now imagine you’re a journalist trying to finish a story on deadline, and you can’t catch a cab back to your own newsroom to file the article.
That was the reality for Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first black female reporter at the Washington Post. It was the 1960s. When she was headed back to the newsroom from interviews, cabs would refuse to stop for her because of the color of her skin. She would have to write as much as she could by hand in her notebook, then quickly finish her story in the newsroom when she finally did get a ride.
Gilliam, 82, documents this struggle in her new memoir, Trailblazer. She could not eat in many of the restaurants in Washington and was ignored by her white colleagues in public. She would sometimes endure panic attacks on her way to work, fearing the day to come. And on top of the stress of chasing down a story, Gilliam could not stay in traditional lodgings where she was reporting because they were segregated. When covering the civil rights movement, Gilliam stayed in a black funeral home.
Gilliam persisted and fought to make herself, and the black community, heard. Later in her career, she began writing a column focused on issues and successes in the black community. (That came with its own troubles: In addition to support, Gilliam’s column drew criticism.) She also cofounded the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, an organization that works to bring more people of color into the news media. She also founded the Young Journalists Development Program at the Washington Post.
In addition to highlighting her career, Trailblazer also touches on personal aspects of Gilliam’s life. She details her marriage to — and eventual divorce from — artist Sam Gilliam. She opens up about her depression, grief, a recurring compulsive eating habit, and religion.
Far from a braggadocious "Look what I did!" memoir, Gilliam’s story resonates in today’s media environment. As racism continues in this country and combines with an increased distrust of news media, added pressure is put on journalists of color. For young journalists of color feeling hopeless, Gilliam’s book is an informative and inspiring source of solace.
This review originally appeared in the Seattle Times.