Title...
Proclamation honoring in memoriam Malvin Russell Goode for bridging racial divides in journalism and broadcasting.
Body...
WHEREAS, the late Mr. Malvin Russell Goode had the distinction of being the first African American correspondent on network television news; and
WHEREAS, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. Goode was a grandson of slaves who worked in the steel mills to pay his way through the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1931; and
WHEREAS, after college, Mr. Goode worked as a probation officer, director of the Centre Avenue Y.M.C.A. and a member of the management staff of the Pittsburgh Housing Authority before joining the Pittsburgh Courier in 1948; and
WHEREAS, in 1949, Mr. Goode joined KQV news radio as a commentator, followed by a six-year stint as a television news co-anchor on WHOD working alongside his sister, the late Mary Dee; and
WHEREAS, in 1962, on the recommendation of his friend, the baseball player, Jackie Robinson, ABC News hired him and assigned him to ABC's bureau at the United Nations (UN). During his 11 years at ABC, Mr. Goode covered the Cuban missile crisis and the 1964 and 1968 Republican and Democratic national conventions, as well as many of the major events of the civil rights struggle, including the assassination of fellow fraternity (Alpha Phi Alpha) brother, Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) inducted Mr. Goode into its Hall of Fame for breaking the color barrier in network broadcast journalism as ABC News reporter in 1962;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Allegheny County Council does hereby honor in memoriam Mr. Malvin R. Goode for bridging racial divides in journalism and broadcasting. FURTHERMORE, we acknowledge Mr. Goode as an inspiration to many for his dedication to civil rights activism in our community.