Trudy Haynes became the nation's first African American TV weather reporter when she was hired by WXYZ-TV in Detroit in 1963.
14 Facts About Trudy Haynes
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Haynes, who received an Emmy Award as well as two Lifetime Achievement Awards during her 33-year tenure at KYW-TV, was hosting an online show called the "Trudy Haynes Show" at the time of her death.
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Trudy Haynes was born in New York City on November 23,1926.
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The only child of Marjorie and Percy Daniels, Trudy Haynes attended several schools but she graduated from Forest Hills High School in Queens, Long Island; racial segregation forced her to be bused to school.
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In 1956, Trudy Haynes took her first steps towards her true calling in broadcasting when she was hired by WCHB, a black-owned radio station in Inkster, Michigan.
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Trudy Haynes was initially hired as a receptionist; however, the director of the station took notice and asked if she wanted to be on a show.
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In 1963, seven years after making her broadcast debut, Trudy Haynes left the world of radio and entered the homes of many when she became the first African American weather reporter on ABC's WXYZ-TV in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
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Two years later, in 1965, Trudy Haynes continued to create milestones as she was hired as the first African American news reporter for KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she worked until her retirement in 1999.
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Trudy Haynes's challenges opened doors for once barred women of color to become contestants and participate in this competition that had been formerly known as "white only".
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Trudy Haynes continued in the capacity as a judge for the Miss America Contest for three years.
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Trudy Haynes stayed active in the media world following her retirement from KYW-TV.
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Trudy Haynes became an active member of the Philadelphia Community Access Coalition, now known as Philly Cam, a lobbying group whose mission is to create public-access cable channels in the Philadelphia area.
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In 2012 Trudy Haynes produced and developed a local television show whose audience included the Philadelphia Tri-State area briefly on Comcast's Bounce, the first national African-owned television network, based in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Trudy Haynes had affiliation with many professional associations, which includes the Philadelphia Branch of the National Association of Black Journalists, lifetime member of the NAACP, National Alliance of Businesspersons, National Negro Business League, National Urban League Guild, and United Negro College Fund, where she established fund raising efforts for five years during her tenure at KYW-TV.