She’s paying homage to those who came before her!
Tamron Hall honored the first Black woman to anchor a network morning show, Black Enterprise reports.
The popular talk show host used a recent airing of her daytime show to honor a woman who paved the way for her, René Syler, the first Black woman to anchor a network morning show. Two decades ago in 2002, Syler made history on CBS News’ The Early Show. Syler covered a variety of critical moments in history, covering news stories with political influencers and celebrities including former First Lady Laura Bush, President Jimmy Carter and musician Prince.
Hall took the time to tell Syler how much of an inspiration she was to her back then and how it set the tone for Hall’s historic moment, being the first Black woman to anchor on the Today show.
Syler’s transparency and journalistic adeptness made her a favorite with viewers. Her 2003 series on breast-cancer awareness, inspired by her family’s own history with the disease, brought her a top journalism honor. Syler recalled her journey and the “life-altering” events that came after she was fired from CBS in 2006, including her decision to have a preventive mastectomy.
“My mother and father were both breast cancer survivors and I was at increased risk for the disease,” Syler explained.
Despite her success, Syler said she didn’t realize the magnitude of the moment at the time or even take in the fact that she was making history.
“It didn’t resonate with me. I think a lot of times when you’re the first you’re keeping it all cool above the surface and underneath you’re like, ‘Oh my Gosh.’ So you don’t really have an opportunity to really understand the path that you’re paving until after,” said Syler.
Hall also took the time to acknowledge Syler for setting the tone for representation by always wearing her natural hair long before it was trending in mainstream media. The show host said that Syler’s handling of her termination, motivated her and guided her to own her truth as well when Hall was fired from Today in 2017.
“When you tell your truth you take away the power in people’s ability to twist the story,” Syler said.
Thank you for your contributions René! Because of you, we can!
Photo Courtesy of The Tamron Hall Show