To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, we’re cataloging 25 objects that define the country’s history.
Ethel Payne, known as “The First Lady of the Black Press,” was the first Black American woman to become an international news correspondent.
Payne reported around the world, challenged presidents and put a spotlight on the struggles of Black Americans. One of her hats and a pen given to her by former President Lyndon B. Johnson are now on display at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum
Acting curator Jennifer Sieck explains how these objects tell the story of Payne’s legacy.
Can you tell us about this hat?
“It is a profusion of flowers on this wide-brimmed hat. It has pink roses and violets that are made out of a velvety material. There are green leaves and glass grapes. And she just wears this pistachio hat with a panache.
“I think it is very much like a church hat or a crown, and certainly women at the time were wearing hats and gloves when they went out. And of course, church hats and crowns are part of a special tradition for African American women.
“Payne really attended to her attire, and it also identified her when she was a reporter in a room with mostly male reporters. They had their hats off indoors, as was the custom, and she had hers on. So it made her stand out in terms of gender in a place where she was really path-breaking.”
What do you have at your museum on display about Ethel Payne?
“In our current exhibit, ‘We Make History,’ we have this hat on view as well as a press pin that she wore to admit her to the Asian African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. She reported from over 30 countries in her long reporting career.
“We also have the pen that was used to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on view and a certificate that she received in honor of her journalism career. With this moment, Ethel Payne is being recognized for her decades-long civil rights activism dating back to the 1940s when she worked with A. Philip Randolph, the famous labor organizer and head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. So she is recognized for that long-term advocacy and civic engagement, and only 75 people approximately received those pens.”
What is Payne’s legacy?
“She met every president from [Dwight D.] Eisenhower to [Ronald] Reagan, and in that last year of her life, she met and interviewed Nelson Mandela after [he] had just been released from prison. She really connected the struggle for civil rights across countries and cultures, and she leaves us a tremendous legacy that all Americans can be grateful for.”
This interview has been edited for clarity.
____
Will Walkey produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Catherine Welch. Walkey also produced it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2026 WBUR