For more than half a century, Les Brownlee worked in newsrooms throughout Chicago.

Among them were the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Defender and here at WBEZ.

A true pioneer, Brownlee was the first African-American reporter to work at a Chicago daily, serve as an on-air television reporter, and become a member of the fraternity that eventually became the Society for Professional Journalists.

In 1993, he was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.

Les Brownlee passed away in 2005, but his autobiography has just been published. 

Richard Steele recently sat down with Brownlee’s widow Priscilla MacDougall.

She says Brownlee’s upbringing in Evanston, at the time, was unlikely.