[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 19, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2252-E2253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING NANCY HICKS MAYNARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2008

  Ms. LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life 
and accomplishments of one of our nation's greatest trailblazers. The 
renowned journalist and activist for truth in media, Nancy Hicks 
Maynard, passed away on September 21, 2008 at the age of 61. Her 
vivacious and extraordinary presence will be greatly missed, however 
her life's work has ensured that future generations will continue to 
benefit from her courageous impact indefinitely.
  A news pioneer and the first African-American woman to own a major 
daily newspaper in America, Nancy Hicks Maynard was an inspiration to 
all who knew her. Her incredible journalism career began in 1966 when, 
outraged by inaccurate and destructive reporting on her neighborhood, 
Nancy broke onto the scene as a reporter for the New York Post at the 
age of 20.
  From there she went on to work at the New York Times. At that time 
she was the Times' youngest staff reporter. However, that did not 
prevent Nancy from covering the hottest issues. From the Apollo space 
missions to African-American student takeovers at Columbia and Cornell 
universities, and the mid-sixties urban rebellions, Nancy was on the 
ground working nonstop to ensure that these stories were reaching the 
public not only through an objective lens, but from the viewpoint of a 
young person of color--something shamefully nonexistent in the media at 
that time.

[[Page E2253]]

  In 1975 she married Robert C. Maynard, who wrote for the Washington 
Post and was already a news giant in his own right. At that time in our 
nation's history, Nancy and Robert were among the best and most 
accomplished of the fewer than 50 black journalists who held 
significant roles in the newspaper, radio and television journalism 
industries. However, rising up within a damaged and biased system was 
not enough for the Maynards. Not content with their own personal 
accomplishments, they both believed that their greatest civic duty was 
to level the playing field and bring others up behind them.
  Two years later, they both resigned from their lucrative posts to 
pursue their shared fundamental ideals. This included, demanding a 
higher standard of ethics and accountability in journalism and 
promoting equal opportunity for people of color in the media industry. 
They moved to the West Coast to pursue what was right and just and to 
establish a non-profit dedicated to training minority reporters and 
pressing newsrooms to ``reflect the diversity of thought, lifestyle and 
heritage in our culture.''
  In Berkeley, California, Nancy and Robert joined with eight other co-
founders and launched the year-round Institute for Journalism 
Education--the first of its kind in this field.
  In 1983, the couple purchased the financially struggling Oakland 
Tribune from the Gannett Company. For nearly a decade, the Maynards co-
published the daily paper. It was at the Oakland Tribune that their 
vision of diversity in staffing and coverage took physical form and set 
an example for the conservative, overwhelmingly white newsroom managers 
they had been trying to reach out to for so many years. The Maynards 
sold the Tribune in 1992 and Robert passed away a few months afterward. 
During the ten years of their proprietorship, the company contributed 
approximately $300 million in payroll revenue alone to the city of 
Oakland and its residents.
  Nancy was the child of an African-American jazz musician and a 
Caucasian mother. Through her personal and professional experiences, 
she understood the need for the most talented and committed minds in 
journalism to work together to break down racial barriers and report 
the truth back to the community. She carried this rich heritage and 
strong sense of purpose with her throughout her life. In 1998, the 
National Association of Black Journalists awarded her its annual 
Lifetime Achievement Award.
  Today, California's 9th Congressional District salutes Nancy Hicks 
Maynard and honors her legacy. We thank her family for sharing this 
amazing spirit with us, especially her partner, Jay T. Harris, her 
mother, Eve Keller, her sister, Barbara Guest, her brother, Al Hall, 
her sons, David and Alex, and her daughter, Dori. May her soul rest in 
peace.

                          ____________________