Many know Carole Simpson as the first Black woman to anchor a major network newscast or as the three-time Emmy award-winning television journalist. Few, however, are privy to the educational and career steps she made before breaking the glass ceiling in 1988 as a reporter for ABC News’ “World News Tonight” weekend edition. 

Born on December 7, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, Carole Estelle Simpson had a natural inclination for literature. “Growing up on the Southside of Chicago, reading books was my favorite sport,” she recalls. Combining her love for fiction and the arts, Simpson had her first introduction to the spotlight through drama in elementary school. She received her first introduction to journalism upon joining her high school’s newspaper. Reporting stories such as the royal court of her school’s prom, Simpson built a knack for writing. After graduating in 1958, Simpson continued to hone her talents during summer vacation at her community’s newspaper while pursuing her undergraduate degree. In 1962 Simpson earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan as the only Black journalism major in her graduating class. Before acquiring her diploma in broadcast media from the University of Iowa, Simpson spent two years employed as a publicist and journalism instructor at the Tuskegee Institute located in Tuskegee, Alabama. 

With a strong foundation in reporting and broadcasting, Simpson has made many milestones. In 1965 after gaining employment at WCFL Radio, Simpson made history as the first woman to broadcast news in Chicago’s history. Throughout her career, Simpson has garnered a multitude of other highlights, such as meeting and covering Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement. Her hard work and dedication attracted the attention of NBC News, where she worked for seven years, followed by an impressive twenty-four years at ABC News. In this time, Simpson pushed her horizon to an international audience covering Nelson Mandela’s release from jail in South Africa and becoming the first minority to moderate a presidential debate in 1992. After over 40 years in her profession, Simpson retired from ABC News in 2006; however, her love for writing and journalism persists. In 2010 Simpson published her memoir, “NewsLady,” where she shares how she was a trailblazer in a male-dominated profession persevering through sexual and racial discrimination. Moreover, Simpson spent thirteen years teaching broadcast journalism as a college professor at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Living a fulfilling and eventful life, Simpson has also amassed a list of favorites. She had a lot of fun vacationing in Montego Bay, Jamaica; her ideal food is red beans and rice; and her words to live by, as she said on her website, are “let go and let God.”