Max Robinson was a trailblazer in the journalism world. He defeated all societal odds by becoming the first African American Broadcast Network news anchor in American television history. Additionally, Robinson was one of the founders of the National Association of Black Journalists, but his road to success wasn’t easy.
Robinson was born May 1st, 1939 in Richmond, Virginia to Doris and Maxie Robinson. His father, Maxie, was a highly respected teacher and sports coach within their community. Max Robinson was one of four children who grew up during the height of segregation and entered adulthood during the civil rights movement which only furthered his passion in journalism.
Because Of Them We Can reported that growing up, Max Robinson was a stellar student and attended Oberlin College where he was the president of the freshman class. Unfortunately, he didn’t graduate from Oberlin but this did not get in the way of the trailblazer’s dreams. Thereafter he furthered his education at Virginia Union and Indiana University where he obtained his degrees. Additionally, he served in the Air Force where he was honorably discharged due to a medical condition.
According to Black Past, after completing his education in 1959, Robinson scored his first journalism job in Portsmouth, Virginia at WTOV-TV. The job he applied for was a “whites only” position, however, the station owner gave him an opportunity and allowed him to audition alongside white candidates. Robinson was given the responsibility of reading the news but was intentionally hidden behind the news station’s logo so the public wouldn’t know he was a person of color. One day Robinson protested and requested that the cameraman remove the logo that covered him while he was reading the news so people could see his face. Robinson was fired immediately.
Later that year, he moved to Washington, DC where he worked at WTOP-TV channel 9 as a correspondent and camera operator. After staying persistent he eventually moved to WRC-TV in 1967 and remained until 1978. During his time there he won six journalism awards for his phenomenal coverage of the civil rights movement.
In 1978, Robinson made history by becoming the first African American television network news anchor at ABC. He was a part of a three-anchor team with Frank Reynolds and Peter Jennings. Robinson worked with ABC until 1983 when his beloved co-anchor Frank Reynolds passed away.
Shortly after Robinson joined Chicago WMAG-TV from 1984-1987. This may have seemed like a triumph for many, but Robinson’s career suffered tremendously. In 1985, Max was moved to a lower position as the weekend news anchor.
The New York Times reported that In his short life, Max Robinson faced several problems including alcohol abuse, racial inequality, and his silent struggle with AIDS. Robinson passed away at the age of 49 on December 20th, 1988.
Disregarding his many challenges, Max Robinson continues to be an inspirational figure to many to this day. Don Lemon—a former CNN host and the face of the new television program “The Don Lemon Show”—has said to the AIDS Monument Organization that Robinson was one of his inspirational figures when entering the journalism world. Lemon said “Max’s professional ascent to become, in 1978, the co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight on ABC News, alongside Peter Jennings and Frank Reynolds, showed me that it was possible for a Black American to become a news anchor on a major network.”
