Max Robinson is a name that many might be unfamiliar with but his impact on the world of journalism for African Americans is insurmountable. In an age when Black faces were seldom seen on TV, Robinson broke barriers and headlines as the first Black broadcast network news anchor.
Born on May 1, 1939, the Richmond native not only was the first Black man to anchor a nightly network newscast but also the first to anchor a local newscast in Washington, D.C.
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But like most success stories, the road wasn’t an easy one and came with a plethora of challenges along the way. In 1959, Robinson started his first journalism job at a news station in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he would go on to read the news. While a step in the right direction, much progress was still needed, as the station perpetuated a color barrier by only airing Robinson with the station’s logo covering him as he read the news. When he presented the news without the logo, he was fired the next day.
“I thought it would be good for all my folks and friends to see me rather than this dumb news sign up there,” Robinson once told an interviewer.
But Robinson was the embodiment of perseverance and resilience and didn’t let those setbacks cause him to stumble. He instead used them as stepping stones to success and as a means of paving the way for other African Americans looking to pursue a career in journalism.
In 1965, he joined the WTOP-TV news team in Washington, D.C. as a correspondent and camera operator. Soon after, he moved to a nearby station, WRC-TV, where he won awards for coverage of race riots and a documentary on life in poor urban neighborhoods.
Roughly four years later, in 1969, he returned to WTOP as its first African American news anchor, serving until 1978.
Following his time at WTOP, he moved to Chicago and was a co-anchor for ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and Frank Reynolds. After Reynold’s passing in 1983, Robinson joined Chicago’s WMAQ-TV as a news anchor.
Robinson was adamant about change and frequently was incredibly outspoken about racism and the need for better representation of African Americans in the media. He was also one of the 44 founders of the National Association of Black Journalists.
“I cannot call myself an honest man or a black achiever if I take the big money and keep my mouth shut,” Robinson previously said.
He also said: “Only by talking about racism, by taking a professional risk, will I take myself out of the mean, racist trap all black Americans find themselves in.”
Robinson passed away on Dec. 20, 1988.
