Press Pass Worn By Ethel L. Payne

Journalist Ethel L. Payne clipped on this press pass to attend the 13th Special Session of the United Nations in May 1986, which focused on economic recovery and development in Africa. The laminated badge is one of many Payne collected in her remarkable career, and it is among several United Nations credentials that she wore. She covered the U.N.’s Decade for Women, for example, on three continents, including Africa, where its closing conference took place in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985. A global beat was a hallmark of Payne’s career, and her international interests helped her see connections in the struggle for civil rights for people of African descent around the world. 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.