Marlene Louise Johnson, Former AP Reporter Who Sued for Discrimination, Dies at 89

Marlene Louise Johnson, a Black journalist whose early discrimination claim against the Associated Press helped catalyze a broader class-action lawsuit and lasting changes to newsroom diversity practices, died May 9 at an elder care facility in the Los Angeles area after suffering from dementia. She was 89. Born in Rochester, New York, Johnson earned degrees from the University of Buffalo and Wayne State University, and later — at age 75 — completed a master's degree in religious studies from Howard University's School of Divinity. She was hired in 1972 as a general assignment reporter in the AP's Detroit bureau through a minority hiring program, covering topics including Black capitalism, school busing, and police-community tensions. After alleging she received no training and faced unequal performance standards, she sued the AP for race and gender discrimination with the help of the Newspaper Guild, a case that eventually grew into a class-action suit. The 1983 settlement, which exceeded $1 million and involved the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, required the AP to implement affirmative action plans and provide training and bonuses for minority and female journalists, though Johnson was not listed among the final plaintiffs and received only about $700 personally. She later worked in Washington for organizations including the National Urban League and the White House Council on Aging, and served as an assistant features editor at The Washington Times from 1994 until her retirement in 2004. She is survived by her daughter, two grandchildren, a son-in-law, and two siblings.