Story 01
Early Life
Dorothy Butler Gilliam was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
As a high school student, she sold copies of The Louisville Defender, the city’s pre-eminent Black paper. Later, Butler took a secretarial job at the paper to gain experience and insight in journalism, and soon began reporting and editing society news for the Defender, which allowed her to develop a greater understanding of social issues and an even greater passion for highlighting these matters through writing. In 1955, Gilliam gained a scholarship to Lincoln University, which created the nation's first journalism program for Black students in 1942. After graduating in 1957, Gilliam took a job at the Tri-State Defender, where she covered the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, before moving on to Chicago and becoming the only woman associate editor at JET.
