Max Robinson, America’s First Black Television Network Anchor

In 1978, history was made as Max Robinson became the first black television anchor in America. Robinson had his heart set on this achievement as far back as 1959 when he "applied for a "whites only" job at a local television station." According to Your Dictionary, "The owner of the station courteously allowed him to audition for the job along with four white candidates. To his surprise, Robinson was given a job reading the news on the air, though his face was hidden behind a slide bearing the station's logo."

However, when he asked that the slide be removed in order to allow his relatives to see him on-air, Robinson "was fired the next day." Robinson did not give up, though. After accepting a job elsewhere as a cameraman-reporter trainee and enduring an unfair payment margin compared to his white coworkers, Robinson started getting recognized for having a great on-air presence and was eventually offered a job at yet another tv station.

During his time in Washington D.C.'s WRC station, Max Robinson "won six journalism awards," as well as "two regional Emmys for a documentary he did on black life in Anacostia titled The Other Washington." 

Robinson broke through walls early in his career and continued pursuing even more ambitious goals that opened the door for many other black men and women to follow their dreams as reporters and TV anchors.