Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the trailblazing reporter who, in 1961, became the first Black woman hired as a reporter at The Washington Post , just donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe organized for recently laid-off Post Guild members, saying the newsroom cuts “made me very sad, even upset.” The donation came after mass layoffs at the paper. TheGrio reported that the GoFundMe has since raised more than $500,000 for affected staffers. Despite her impressive history-making career in journalism, Gilliam faced many obstacles as she attempted to do her job and do it well. For now, the GoFundMe and community support are offering short-term relief while industry observers continue to press for long-term solutions to preserve newsroom capacity and representation. With the death of DEI, any advances that Gilliam helped make are being dismantled not only in journalism but at large.

Source: Washington Post March 05, 2026 06:43 UTC