In Memoriam: Renee Poussaint, award-winning journalist, dies at 77

Renee Poussaint, an award-winning journalist and lecturer, has passed away. She was 77.

Her husband Henry Richardson, a retired Temple University professor, said his wife died from lung cancer complications.

Renee Poussaint, an award-winning journalist

Poussaint started her career in broadcast journalism in the mid-70s as a newscaster in Chicago on ABC World News Tonight, subsequently substituting for Peter Jennings. After World News Tonight, she became a correspondent for CBS in Washington D.C. and then an anchor for ABC 7News.

She received three Emmy awards for her work on ABC’s PrimeTime Live for reporting, writing and interviewing.

Poussaint enjoyed reporting on human-interest stories, having notable coverage on Haiti, South Africa and Uganda.

Dedication to telling Black stories

A New York City native, Poussaint made it a point to be the voice for the voiceless, ensuring Black stories were told.

In 2001, Poussaint co-foundeed and became executive director of the National Visionary Leadership Project. The organization has recoded more than 300 interviews with Black leaders age 70 and older in a variation of roles from arts to politics and civil rights, the Washington Post reported.

Poussaint was one of the editors of a 2007 volume of composed interviews, titled, “A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak” – featuring accounts by trailblazers such as Maya Angelou, Ray Charles to  Coretta Scott King.

After two decades in journalism, Poussaint stepped away to become a lecturer, dedicating her time to teaching students about black history and civil rights.

Before her death, Poissant was an adjunct lecturer at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.