Before there was Oprah, there was Alice Travis, writes Maya S. Cade for The New York Times. 

Travis, who graduated from Chester County’s Immaculata University in 1965, was the first Black woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show. 

When she auditioned for the ABC show that would later become Good Morning America in 1975, she was already a seasoned reporter. At 32, she had already served as a co-host for two major-market news shows. 

She was once described by the Black-owned weekly newspaper New York Amsterdam News as “one of the brightest and brainiest of the undiscovered teevee personalities.” 

Still, she was unprepared from a comment one network executive made after her audition. 

 “‘Quite frankly your color is not to your advantage,’” she recalled him saying. “Shocking statements, but after a while they no longer shocked.” 

However, the rejection did not slow her down. Instead, she became the host of For You … Black Woman, a syndicated show created for a Black female audience. 

She discussed a variety of topics, like self-fulfillment, relationships, parenting, and politics. Her guests included Muhammad Ali, Toni Morrison, and the activist Florynce Kennedy. 

Travis later left broadcasting in 1979 to focus on her family. 

Read more about Alice Travis as the host of For You … Black Woman in The New York Times. 

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