The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel L. Payne

by Lesa Cline-Ransome, John Parra (Illustrator)

Overview

“A solid treatment of an important but little-known figure, and it may prompt kids to think about the role and composition of a free press.” —BCCB
“Cline-Ransome tells [Ethel Payne’s] story with economy and drive. ‘Somebody had to do the fighting,’ she quotes Payne saying, ‘somebody had to speak up.’” —Publishers Weekly

Renowned author Lesa Cline-Ransome and celebrated illustrator John Parra unite to tell the inspiring story of Ethel Payne, a groundbreaking African American journalist known as the First Lady of the Black Press.

“I’ve had a box seat on history.”

Ethel Payne always had an ear for stories. Seeking truth, justice, and equality, Ethel followed stories from her school newspaper in Chicago to Japan during World War II. It even led her to the White House briefing room, where she broke barriers as the only black female journalist. Ethel wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions of presidents, elected officials, or anyone else in charge, earning her the title, “First Lady of the Black Press.”

Fearless and determined, Ethel Payne shined a light on the darkest moments in history, and her ear for stories sought answers to the questions that mattered most in the fight for Civil Rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481462891
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	01/14/2020
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	273,640
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lesa Cline-Ransome is the author of many award-winning and critically acclaimed nonfiction books for young readers, including Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams; My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey; and Before She Was Harriet. She is also the author of the novel Finding Langston, which received a Coretta Scott King Honor Award and five starred reviews. She lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York. Learn more at LesaClineRansome.com

John Parra’s illustrations for Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos, written by Monica Brown, earned the book a New York Times Best Illustrated Book designation. He also illustrated Green Is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong, which received a Pura Belpré Honor and the Américas Book Award: Commended; Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans by Phil Bildner, which won the Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration and was a Bank Street Best Book of the year; and Hey, Wall, by Susan Verde, which School Library Journal called “a must-purchase” in a starred review. Learn more at JohnParraArt.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/18/2019

Chances were few for young women of color around the Great Depression, but when Ethel L. Payne’s (1911–1991) Chicago high school wouldn’t let a black student work on its newspaper, she got it to publish her first story; then, during college, she took writing classes at a local school that offered free tuition. After organizing locally during WWII, she seized the opportunity to become a correspondent in Tokyo and found herself with sudden global influence: “One of Ethel’s articles about black soldiers stationed in Japan had made its way across the seas.” After several years writing for the Chicago Defender, a black newspaper, she was issued White House press credentials and served through four administrations. “I’ve had a box seat on history,” she said, “and that’s a rare thing.” Folk-style portraits by Parra couple maturing images of Payne with historical emblems, and Cline-Ransome tells her story with economy and drive. “Somebody had to do the fighting,” she quotes Payne saying, “somebody had to speak up.” An author’s note and bibliography conclude. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

It would have been near-impossible to predict that a Chicago South Side girl, the granddaughter of slaves, would end up firing pointed questions at U.S. presidents, serving as a critical information conduit for Black newspaper readership, and opening doors for Black and female journalists. Ethel Payne followed her passion for writing and storytelling from her high school English classes, into her job as a social director at a military base in post–World War II Japan, and onto a permanent position with the venerable African-American newspaper the Chicago Defender. There her coveted White House press pass put her face to face with chief executives, many of whom found themselves cornered by her questions about civil rights policies (“Ethel wrote the stories that the mainstream media refused to. It was her questions to presidents that finally made readers of all races pay attention to the plight of African Americans”). Parra’s stylized acrylic paintings place figures with the knife-edged crispness of paper collage against the textured surfaces of illustration board, and intersperse well-placed vignettes that suggest the length and breadth of Payne’s long career. This is a solid treatment of an important but little-known figure, and it may prompt kids to think about the role and composition of a free press. An author’s note expands information, and source credits, a brief adult bibliography, and a list for further reading are included. EB

December 1, 2019 - BCCB

01/01/2020

Gr 2–5—African American journalist Ethel L. Payne (1911–91) "collected the stories of people who followed a path paved with dreams." Her interest in oral histories started at an early age—her grandparents shared their experiences laboring in the cotton fields under slavery, and her parents told stories of their sharecropping days. Payne may have grown up poor, but her childhood was rich in language and love. Every Saturday, Payne's mother took her daughter and her five siblings to the libraries on the white side of town. Payne's English teacher encouraged her to write, and, eventually, the all-white school newspaper published her first story. Payne lost her father at an early age and endured bigotry and discrimination. But none of these hardships stopped her from pursuing her dreams. She went to college, fought racism, and shattered barriers to become the only black female journalist in the White House briefing room. She fearlessly asked tough questions of the elected officials and helped to enact change in the country. In Payne's quest for civil rights, she became known as the "First Lady of the Black Press." Told in a matter-of-fact style, accompanied by rich acrylics, Payne's biography is brought to life for young students who may not know about the impact she made for journalists of color. VERDICT A strong addition to an elementary library biography collection.—Annette Herbert, F. E. Smith Elementary School, Cortland, NY

School Library Journal

2019-10-23
Cline-Ransome and Parra introduce journalist Ethel L. Payne, called "The First Lady of the Black Press," to young readers.

Born in 1911 to a Pullman porter and a Latin teacher, as a girl, Ethel loved the stories her elders told, reading at the library on weekends, and English class with a teacher who encouraged her writing. During World War II, she became a community organizer in her hometown of Chicago, then began writing letters to newspapers about national politics and black issues. She got a job in Japan after the war, where she learned from black American soldiers about discrimination in the military, and a friend had her diary entries from the trip published. One of her articles made headlines, and she began working at the Chicago Defender. The newspaper sent her to Washington, where she became one of only three black journalists with a White House press pass and covered six presidents, asking them tough questions about race. The lengthy text, a paragraph or two on most pages, gives a thorough treatment of Payne and her effects on national politics and culture. While the copious details are relevant, their telling feels somewhat tedious, as the various events lack a strong narrative thread to hold them together. Parra's painted, folk-style illustrations use texture and a mix of earthy colors to create distinct scenes that are stronger individually than collectively.

Patient children will see another way to make a difference. (author's note, bibliography, credits, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews

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