Famous Black Journalists

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 1 
Ida B. Wells
(Women's Rights Activist and Civil Rights Leader)
Ida B. Wells
14
Birthdate: July 16, 1862
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States
Died: March 25, 1931
Civil rights and women's rights activist Ida B. Wells is remembered for speaking up against the lynching of Blacks in the U.S. She was born a slave and freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. She later co-founded the NAACP. She also co-owned and wrote for Memphis Free Speech and Headlight.
 2 
Harris Faulkner
(News Anchor)
Harris Faulkner
7
Birthdate: October 13, 1965
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Newscaster and TV host, Harris Faulkner, is currently associated with  Fox News Channel.  She hosts her own prime time political franchise called Town Hall America with Harris Faulkner and also a daily daytime show The Faulkner Focus. A much-respected figure in the TV industry, she is the recipient of six Emmy Awards and the Amelia Earhart Pioneering Lifetime Achievement Award. 

 3 
Ta-Nehisi Coates
(Author and Journalist Known for His Non-Fiction Books: ‘The Beautiful Struggle’ and ‘Between the World and Me’)
Ta-Nehisi Coates
6
Birthdate: September 30, 1975
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates gained international prominence while serving as the national correspondent at The Atlantic. His writings on socio-political issues related to African Americans and white supremacy garnered him much appreciation. He is a recipient of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Prize for Writing to Advance Social Justice. He also writes fiction and comics.

 4 
Sunny Hostin
(Lawyer, Journalist and Co-Host on ABC's Morning Talk Show 'The View')
Sunny Hostin
8
Birthdate: October 20, 1968
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Sunny Hostin is an American journalist, lawyer, and television host. She is best known for co-hosting the popular talk show, The View, for which she has received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations so far. Before appearing on TV, Sunny Hostin served as a federal prosecutor; for successfully prosecuting sex offenders, Hostin was honored with a Special Achievement Award.

 5 
Gwen Ifill
(Journalist)
Gwen Ifill
10
Birthdate: September 29, 1955
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: November 14, 2016
 6 
Bryant Gumbel
(Journalist, Sportscaster)
Bryant Gumbel
6
Birthdate: September 29, 1948
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 7 
Larry Wilmore
(Actor, Screenwriter, Comedian, Television actor, Journalist)
Larry Wilmore
6
Birthdate: October 30, 1961
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Los Angeles
 8 
Jason Whitlock
(Journalist)
Jason Whitlock
7
Birthdate: April 27, 1967
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
 9 
Trevor McDonald
(Trinidadian-British Journalist Best Known for His Career as a News Presenter with 'ITN')
Trevor McDonald
4
Birthdate: August 16, 1939
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago

Trevor McDonald is a Trinidadian-British journalist and newsreader. Over the years, he has been contributing to the success of the Independent Television News' (ITN) Broadcast News division, working as its news presenter. In the 1999 Birthday Honours, McDonald was appointed Knight Bachelor for his services to journalism. At the 2011 BAFTA TV Awards, he was honored with a BAFTA fellowship.

 10 
Carter Woodson
(Historian)
Carter Woodson
4
Birthdate: December 19, 1875
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New Canton, Virginia, United States
Died: April 3, 1950

Historian Carter Woodson was is remembered for pioneering Black studies in schools and colleges. He began the Negro History Week, which is now celebrated as the Black History Month. Poverty had pushed him to work in the coal mines initially, and he couldn’t join high school before 20.

 11 
Don Lemon
(Journalist)
Don Lemon
23
Birthdate: March 1, 1966
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
 12 
Mumia Abu-Jamal
(Journalist, Activist)
Mumia Abu-Jamal
7
Birthdate: April 24, 1954
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Philadelphia
 13 
Domonique Foxworth
(American football player)
Domonique Foxworth
5
Birthdate: March 27, 1983
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Oxford, England
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 14 
Deborah Roberts
(Journalists)
Deborah Roberts
6
Birthdate: September 20, 1960
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Perry, Georgia, USA
 15 
Joy Reid
(Journalist)
Joy Reid
9
Birthdate: December 8, 1968
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
 16 
Star Jones
(Lawyer, Journalist, Television Personality & Fashion Designer)
Star Jones
5
Birthdate: March 24, 1962
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Badin, North Carolina, United States
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 17 
Keorapetse Kgositsile
(South African Tswana Poet, Journalist and Political Activist)
Keorapetse Kgositsile
4
Birthdate: September 19, 1938
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Johannesburg, South Africa
Died: January 3, 2018

Keorapetse Kgositsile was a South African Tswana journalist, poet, and political activist. During the 1960s and 1970s, Kgositsile played an important role in the development of the African National Congress. Keorapetse Kgositsile helped bridge the gap between black poetry in the United States of America and African poetry. He was inaugurated as the nation's National Poet Laureate in 2006.

 18 
Yamiche Alcindor
(Journalist)
Yamiche Alcindor
2
Birthdate: November 1, 1986
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Miami, Florida, United States
 19 
James Brown
(Basketball player, Sports commentator)
James Brown
1
Birthdate: February 25, 1951
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
 20 
Fredricka Whitfield
(Journalist)
Fredricka Whitfield
1
Birthdate: May 31, 1965
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 21 
Auma Obama
(Kenyan-British Journalist, Community Activist and Half-Sister of Barack Obama)
Auma Obama
5
Birthdate: 1960 AD
Birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya
Auma Obama is a Kenyan-British journalist, community activist, author, and sociologist. She is also famous as the half-sister of former American President Barack Obama. Auma Obama is perhaps best known for her association with a non-profit organization called Sauti Kuu Foundation, where she serves as the executive chairwoman. The organization aims at helping orphans struggling with poverty in Kenya.
 22 
Roy Wilkins
(Civil rights activist who was the leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 1964 to 1977)
Roy Wilkins
3
Birthdate: August 30, 1901
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died: September 8, 1981
 23 
Max Robinson
(Broadcaster)
Max Robinson
2
Birthdate: May 1, 1939
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Died: December 20, 1988
 24 
Ben Okri
(Distinguished Nigerian Poet and Novelist Who Won Booker Prize for His Novel ‘The Famished Road’)
Ben Okri
3
Birthdate: March 15, 1959
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Minna, Nigeria

Distinguished Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri OBE FRSL is counted among the leading African authors in the post-modern and post-colonial traditions. His 1991 novel The Famished Road led him to become the youngest-ever winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Other notable works of Okri includes A Way of Being Free, A Time for New Dreams and Starbook.

 25 
April Ryan
(Journalist)
April Ryan
3
Birthdate: September 5, 1967
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
 26 
Martin Delany
(Journalist)
Martin Delany
3
Birthdate: May 6, 1812
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Charles Town, Virginia, United States
Died: January 24, 1885
 27 
Mary Ann Shadd
(American-Canadian Activist, Journalist, Publisher and the First Black Woman Publisher in North America)
Mary Ann Shadd
5
Birthdate: October 9, 1823
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Died: June 5, 1893

The first North American Black woman to publish a newspaper, USA-born Mary Ann Shadd was the founder of the Canadian newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. Concurrently serving as its anonymous editor and contributor, she also became one of the first women to pursue journalism in Canada. She was also one of the first Black women to earn a degree in law.

 28 
Armstrong Williams
(TV host has hosted a daily radio show, and hosts a nationally syndicated television program called The Armstrong Williams Show)
Armstrong Williams
3
Birthdate: February 5, 1962
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Marion, South Carolina, United States
 29 
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
(American journalist)
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
2
Birthdate: February 27, 1942
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Due West, South Carolina, United States
 30 
Sean Fletcher
(TV presenter on Good Morning Britain and on Countryfile)
Sean Fletcher
0
Birthdate: April 20, 1974
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
 31 
Lucy Parsons
(American Social Anarchist and Anarcho-Communist)
Lucy Parsons
3
Birthdate: 1851 AD
Birthplace: Virginia, United States
Died: March 7, 1942
 32 
Amy Holmes
(Commentator)
Amy Holmes
3
Birthdate: July 25, 1973
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lusaka, Zambia
 33 
Kendis Gibson
(Won two Emmy Awards for 'outstanding news reporting' and 'sports feature')
Kendis Gibson
0
Birthdate: September 6, 1972
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Belize
 34 
Tayeb Salih
(Sudanese Writer Best Known for His Novel 'Season of Migration to the North')
Tayeb Salih
2
Birthdate: July 12, 1929
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Al Dabbah, Sudan
Died: February 19, 2009

One of the most influential Sudanese authors, Tayeb Salih was born into a farming community and had thus aspired to work in agriculture. However, he became a journalist later and worked with al Majalla and BBC. His works such as The Wedding of Zein mirror the intricacies of African life.

 35 
Komla Dumor
(Journalist)
Komla Dumor
2
Birthdate: 1972 AD
Birthplace: Accra
Died: January 18, 2014

Ghanaian journalist and BBC World News anchor Komla Dumor had soared to fame with his program Focus on Africa. Grandson of Philip Gbeho, who had composed the Ghanaian national anthem, Dumor boasted of a Harvard degree. New African magazine named him one of the 100 most influential Africans of 2013.

 36 
Alice Bah Kuhnke
(Politician)
Alice Bah Kuhnke
2
Birthdate: December 21, 1971
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Malmö, Sweden

Alice Bah Kuhnke was appointed the Swedish Minister of Culture and Democracy in October 2014 and continued in the office till January 2019. Thereafter, in 2019 she was elected as one of the 20 Members of the European Parliament in Sweden. The Swedish politician, who played a role in establishing the think tank Sektor3, was a television personality earlier.

 37 
Stanley Crouch
(Musician, Novelist, Writer, Music critic, Journalist)
Stanley Crouch
2
Birthdate: December 14, 1945
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Los Angeles
 38 
Carole Simpson
(Broadcaster)
Carole Simpson
2
Birthdate: December 7, 1941
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
 39 
Hans Massaquoi
(Journalist, Writer)
Hans Massaquoi
0
Birthdate: January 19, 1926
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: January 19, 2013
 40 
Clarence Page
(Journalist)
Clarence Page
2
Birthdate: June 2, 1947
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Dayton, Ohio, United States
 41 
Jon Kelley
(Journalist)
Jon Kelley
0
Birthdate: August 5, 1965
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Height: 6'3" (190 cm)
 42 
Sol Plaatje
(South African Journalist, Linguist, Founding Member and First General Secretary of the 'South African Native National Congress')
Sol Plaatje
2
Birthdate: October 9, 1876
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Boshof, South Africa
Died: June 19, 1932
South African writer and journalist Sol Plaatje, known for his novel Mhudi, was well-versed in a number of languages, apart from his native Tswana. He founded what later became the African National Congress and made people across the globe aware of the plight of black Africans in his country.
 43 
Rui de Noronha
(Poet and Journalist)
Rui de Noronha
2
Birthdate: October 28, 1909
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Maputo, Mozambique
Died: December 25, 1943

Rui de Noronha was a Mozambican poet best remembered as the forefather of modern Mozambican poetry. His dream of publishing a book of poems was never realized during his lifetime as he died at the age of 34. However, Dr. Domingos Reis Costa collected and revised 60 of his poems and published a posthumous edition titled Sonetos in 1946.

 44 
Mona Kosar Abdi
(Multimedia journalist)
Mona Kosar Abdi
0
Birthdate: May 13, 1991
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: San Diego, California, United States
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 45 
George Padmore
(Writer, Journalist)
George Padmore
2
Birthdate: June 28, 1903
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago
Died: September 23, 1959
 46 
Grace Nichols
(She worked as a teacher and journalist in Guyana)
Grace Nichols
0
Birthdate: 1950 AD
Birthplace: Georgetown, Guyana
 47 
Hodan Nalayeh
(Social activist)
Hodan Nalayeh
0
Birthdate: 1976 AD
Birthplace: Somalia
Died: July 12, 2019
 48 
Kelefa Sanneh
(He wrote for The New York Times)
Kelefa Sanneh
0
Birthdate: 1976 AD
Birthplace: Birmingham, West Midlands, England
 49 
Dennis Brutus
(Author)
Dennis Brutus
2
Birthdate: November 28, 1924
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Harare, Zimbabwe
Died: December 26, 2009
 50 
Simon Mol
(Journalist, Activist)
Simon Mol
2
Birthdate: November 6, 1973
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Buea, Cameroon
Died: October 10, 2008