Membership Card Issued To Ethel L. Payne

This red membership card admitted journalist Ethel L. Payne (1911-1991) to International House, a private club in Vietnam’s capital frequented by foreign visitors during the U.S. War with Vietnam. The club might have been a useful place for Payne to make contacts due to its prominent location on Nguyen Hue, the broad boulevard of hotels and restaurants that culminated in the Presidential Palace. On Christmas Eve 1966, Payne became the first African American reporter to cover the conflict from Vietnam. For the next nine weeks, she focused on racial equity for African American soldiers in the U.S. military, writing articles for The Chicago Defender on the typewriter that she brought with her. A Chicago native, Payne moved to Washington, DC in 1952 to cover national and international news. The lifelong civil rights activist reported from thirty countries over the course of her career, becoming known as the First Lady of the Black Press.