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Here are some really awesome Black journalist who’ve changed the world of journalism.

Amazing Black Journalist  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

1. Ida B. Wells

Ida B. Wells was a journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist and feminist known for her work in the African American community. Born on July 16, 1862, Wells was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. In the 1890’s Wells documented lynchings around the United States.

2. Jim Vance

Jim Vance began his career in journalism at the Philadelphia Independent as a reporter while teaching English for three years. He then moved to WRC-TV in 1969 to become a TV reporter. He became their main co-anchor in 1972 which made him the first African Americans to serve in this position at any American television station. Vance earned 19 local Emmy awards for his work receiving one specifically for his coverage of the 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight 90 in the Potomac River. Vance died from complications with cancer at the age of 75 on July 22, 2017.

3. Carl Rowan

Born August 11, 1925, in Tennesse during Jim Crow, Rowan grew up very poor. He earned money to attend college at Tennesse State College by scrubbing porches at a tuberculosis hospital. While there he passed a national competition that made him one of the first 15 African-Americans to be commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. After that, he went onto the University of Minnesota where he earned a master’s in journalism. His first job in the field was at the Minneapolis Tribune were he covered civil rights trials in the South. His dedication to reporting on race relations made him a distinct character in the fight. This prompted President John F. Kennedy to appoint him deputy assistant secretary of state with the assignment to help integrate the State Department. He was 75 years old when died of various illnesses on September 24, 2000.

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.