Black History

Malvin Russell: Goode Black Radio Reporter Who Covered Cuban Missile Crisis

Malvin Russell Goode (1908–1995) ignored the cultural roadblocks preventing minorities from entering and having success in the field of journalism.

Published

11 months ago

November 3, 2023

Oakland Post

Malvin Russell Goode had been a steelworker, probation officer and YMCA director before entering the field of journalism at age 40. Public domain photo.

By Tamara Shiloh

About 80% of Black adults expect that national news stories will be accurate. About 53% feel connected to their main news source overall. One in three say they have a lot of trust in the information they get from local news organizations. These facts aside, Black people have historically been underrepresented in the newsroom.

Malvin Russell Goode (1908–1995) ignored the cultural roadblocks preventing minorities from entering and having success in the field of journalism.

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1931, Goode continued his employment as a steelworker for five years. He then worked at various jobs: a probation officer, director for the YMCA, manager for the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, and eventually in the public relations department of the Pittsburgh Courier, where, at age 40, he moved into the position of reporter.

He later took a leap into radio broadcasting, beginning with a 15-minute, twice-weekly commentary for KQV Radio in Pittsburgh. His popularity began to soar.

After 13 years in broadcasting, Goode was hired by ABC in 1962, making him the national news network’s first African American correspondent. He dove at the chance to present all sides of news coverage.

Seven weeks into Goode’s network career, the Cuban Missile Crisis developed. The lead ABC correspondent for the United Nations was on vacation, so Goode reported on the entire story for the network. He continued to cover the U.N. until his retirement in 1973.

Throughout his career, Goode also reported on political conventions, and civil and human rights issues during the 1960s.

Goode was jailed many times in attempts to harass and intimidate him for his involvement with civil rights issues. He was active with the NAACP and traveled across the country to give speeches for more than 200 local chapters.

He knew and interviewed many prominent civil rights leaders and athletes such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Jackie Robinson.

Post retirement, he worked for the National Black Network, again covering the U.N., civil rights, and politics, a move that proved challenging.

Goode was born in White Plains, Va. His grandparents had once been slaves, and their history informed Goode’s entire family life, giving them ambition and determination.

His mother attended West Virginia State University, and often stressed the importance of education to her children. Goode would remember these lessons for the rest of his life. This can be seen by his determination and his interest in events that affected the world.

About Goode, former ABC anchor Peter Jennings, who considered him a mentor, once said: “Mal could have very sharp elbows. If he was on a civil rights story and anyone even appeared to give him any grief because he was black, he made it more than clear that this was now a free country.”

Goode died of a stroke on Sept. 12, 1995, in Pittsburgh.

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Black History

From Louisville to the Olympics: The Legacy of William DeHart Hubbard

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history. Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Published

1 week ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

William DeHart Hubbard made history in 1924 when Hubbard made Olympic history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Public Domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history.

Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Hubbard was the only African American on the school’s track team; he was also the first African American varsity track letterman at the university. In his college career, Hubbard won several meets including being a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, eight-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion, and seven-time Big Ten Conference champion in track and field. His 1925 outdoor long jump of 25 feet 10¹⁄₂ inches stood as the Michigan Wolverines team record until 1980, and it is still second. His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3.5 inches stood as a Big Ten Championships record until Jesse Owens broke it in 1935 with what is now the current record of 26 feet 8.25 inches.

In 1924, he was selected to represent the United States at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Competing against some of the best athletes in the world, Hubbard made history by winning the gold medal in the long jump by jumping 24 feet 5.5 inches. This victory made him the first African American to win an individual gold medal in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

In 1925, Hubbard broke the long jump world record with a leap of 25 feet 10⁷⁄₈ inches at the NCAA championships. In 1927, he bettered that with a jump of 26 feet 2.25 inches — which would have been the first ever over 26 feet — but meet officials disallowed it, claiming that the take-off board was an inch higher than the surface of the landing pit. He also competed in the hurdles at the 1926 AAU championships. He graduated with honors in 1927.

He specialized in the long jump, a sport that would soon bring him international fame.

Hubbard’s Olympic success was not just a personal triumph but a milestone for African Americans in sports. His victory challenged the prevailing stereotypes of the time and inspired a generation of Black athletes to pursue their dreams in the face of adversity.

After his Olympic success, he continued to excel in track and field. He set an additional world record in 1925 with a jump of 25 feet 10.75 inches, which stood for several years. His accomplishments were not limited to athletics, as he also became involved in civic and business endeavors after his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1927.

Following his athletic career, Hubbard returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, where he took on various roles serving his community and the progress of African Americans. He worked as a manager for the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission and later became a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Administration.

Hubbard passed away on June 23, 1976. As the first African American to win an individual Gold Medal in the Olympics, he not only paved the way for future generations of athletes but also demonstrated the profound impact that sports can have on societal change.