In this episode, Eric sits down with civil rights activist and award-winning journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault. They discuss her childhood - from being born in South Carolina during segregation, moving frequently as her father was an army chaplain but spending most of her time in Atlanta. Her early education and the values that were instilled in her at a young age that lent to inspiring her to have high aspirations, self-belief and providing “armor” to shield her throughout her life… and how she gravitated to and was inspired to become a journalist.

They discuss the Brown v. Board of Education landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, how Hunter, along with Hamilton Holmes were the two students selected by a committee to integrate white universities in Atlanta… A successful legal challenge that culminated in her admission to the University of Georgia in January 1961—making her one of the first two Black students to integrate the institution.

Her illustrious career in journalism, from beginning at the New Yorker magazine, to joining The New York Times as a metropolitan reporter specializing in coverage of the urban black community, becoming a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, CNN and the Public Broadcasting… She reflects on covering Apartheid in South Africa and interviewing nelson Nelson Mandela! To eventually authoring five books — her most recent one being “My People: Five Decades of Writing about Black Lives”.

Her passion for writing about Black Lives and History in a way that shows the full, honest picture and her mission of creating a coalition across generations, in order to preserve and honor the path that was paved by her ancestors… and continue to work together, to strive toward a more perfect union in the United States of America…!

Guest Bio: Award-winning journalist, author, and school desegregation pioneer Charlayne Hunter-Gault was born on February 27, 1942, in Due West, South Carolina.

In 1961, Hunter became the first African American woman to enroll in the University of Georgia; she was also among the first African American women to graduate from the university, earning a degree in journalism in 1963.

After completing college, Hunter moved to New York City, where she worked for The New Yorker magazine in an administrative job and contributed pieces to the “Talk of the Town” section. Hunter-Gault gained a national audience after she joined the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) news program MacNeil/Lehrer Report in 1978. When the program grew into the 60-minute MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour in 1983, she became its national correspondent and reported on topics that included racism, Vietnam veterans, life under apartheid, drug abuse, and human rights issues.

In 1997 Hunter-Gault left PBS to become the Africa bureau chief for National Public Radio (NPR), and in 1999 she was named Johannesburg bureau chief for the Cable News Network (CNN), a post she held until 2005. She published a memoir, In My Place (1992), and New News Out of Africa (2006), a book documenting positive developments in Africa. In 2005 Hunter-Gault was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Hall of Fame.

Hunter-Gault lives in Florida and on Martha’s Vineyard.

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