Black History Fact today: Louis E. Lomax

Louis E. Lomax’s contributions to journalism are both noteworthy and historic. Beyond introducing much of white America to the unflinching Blackness of Nation Of Islam spokesperson Malcolm X, Lomax was the first Black man to work as a television journalist.
Born August 16, 1922 in Valdosta, Ga., Louis Emanuel Lomax attended Paine College in Augusta and American University earning his master’s degree in philosophy. Lomax obtained his Ph.D in 1947 from Yale University. After a brief time teaching philosophy at Georgia State College, Lomax made his foray into journalism.
The young reporter cut his teeth at Black newspapers The Afro-American and Chicago Defender, leaving print work behind in 1958 to focus on television. Working for WNTA-TV in New York as a show producer, Lomax made history during his rise.
The following year, Lomax and his colleague, the late Mike Wallace, worked on a five-part series that examined the surging Nation Of Islam and its charismatic national spokesperson. Both Malcolm X and Nation of Islam leader the Hon. Elijah Muhammad appeared on the program with Wallace handling narration. Lomax became a freelance writer and author for a time, establishing himself with books like The Reluctant African and The Negro Revolt. Much of Lomax’s writings centered on the Civil Rights Movement, Black nationalism and other related matters.