Voting Station

Era Bell Thompson

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Commentator

The Resume

    (August 10, 1905-December 30, 1986)
    Born in Des Moines, Iowa
    Reporter for the Minneapolis Bugle, Chicago Defender, Negro Dispatch and Ebony
    Managing editor (1951-64) and international editor (1964-85) of 'Ebony'
    Wrote 'American Daughter' (1946) and 'Africa, Land of My Fathers' (1954)

Why she might be annoying:

    Her family moved to North Dakota when she was young and she felt isolated as part of the only black family in town.
    When she moved to Chicago, she had trouble finding work (‘It didn’t help to tell people I was a college graduate.’) and eventually got a job as a housekeeper.
    She said about ‘American Daughter,’ ‘Usually an autobiography is written near the end of a long and distinguished career, but not taking any chances, I wrote mine first, then began to live.’

Why she might not be annoying:

    When she attended the University of North Dakota (UND), the YWCA would not rent her a room and streetcars refused to stop for her.
    In college, she broke five UND records in track and tied two national records.
    She broke ground as one of the first black and female foreign correspondents.
    She spent a night in jail in South Africa because there were no hotel rooms for blacks.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying