Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first Black woman to be hired at The Washington Post as a reporter, is giving back to the publication after its employees experienced mass layoffs in February.
Gilliam donated $10,000 to a fundraiser created by The Washington Post Guild to support those affected by the layoffs.
Dorothy Butler Gilliam donates $10,000 to support employees laid off by The Washington Post
Gilliam expressed how she viewed the recent layoffs at The Post: “It made me very sad, even upset, because I know many people read the Post and depend on the Post, and this certainly is one of those times when we need some balance in the information that’s available,” she said in an interview with The Washingtonian.
Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first Black woman reporter hired at The Washington Post, donated $10,000 to recently laid-off guild members https://t.co/CFyfHuW4uJ
— WABJ – Washington Association of Black Journalists (@WABJDC) March 3, 2026
The journalist donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe fundraiser created by members of the Washington Post Guild. She is part of the campaign’s top donors alongside journalist Kara Swisher and an anonymous contributor. As of this time, the GoFundMe fundraiser has collected close to $595,000. All of the proceeds will be sent to laid-off journalists via their Venmo and Zelle accounts.
“I was inspired by the people who work at the paper who continue to make a significant difference in the city,” Gilliam said, explaining the reason behind her contribution, per The Washingtonian.
She also said the recent layoffs are “very, very disappointing, because it’s important for the readers of the Post to read diverse opinions.” Gillian added that it feels “particularly alarming” at this time.
“It’s important for me not to let the things that are happening stop me from doing those things that I know are correct, those things that are positive, those things that can help,” she told The Washingtonian. “That’s why I’m glad I was able to make a reasonable, monetary contribution.”
Dorothy Butler Gilliam made history as The Washington Post’s first Black woman reporter
In 1961, Gilliam was hired by The Post, where she worked until 1965. As theGrio reported, she decided to freelance before returning to The Post in 1972 as the Style section’s assistant editor before retiring in 2003.
In 2019, Gilliam published Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist’s Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America, which chronicles her career, as well as her efforts to diversify newsrooms across the United States and the obstacles she experienced while trying to make a name for herself as a young reporter.
“President John F. Kennedy was talking about some things that needed to happen for the Black population,” she recalled during a book release event, according to BET. “But as a reporter, when I would get my daily assignment and go out to try to hail a taxi to cover it, it took forever. I would walk and try to write my story and get back to file it before the deadline.”
Gilliam helped create initiatives with the goal of promoting diverse newsrooms. For instance, she helped form the Maynard Institute, a nonprofit that trains journalists, in 1977. She also created the Young Journalists Development Program at The Post, which offered mentorship opportunities to high school students in the D.C. area.