Before the Byline: An evening with news journalist Don Wycliff

February 12 | In-Store | 6:00 PM

Join newspaper journalist Don Wycliff, former editorial page director at the Chicago Tribune in a conversation about his recently published memoir. In Before the Byline: A Journalist’s Roots, Don reflects on the unlikely path that carried him from a segregated childhood in East Texas to the editorial boards in some of America’s most influential newsrooms. This is a free, ticketed event followed by a book signing.

Doors and minibar open at 5:30PM

About the Book: In this deeply personal memoir, Don Wycliff reflects on the unlikely path that carried him from a segregated childhood in East Texas to the editorial boards of some of America’s most influential newspapers. Born in 1946 to devout Black Catholic parents who instilled in him resilience, faith, and ambition, Wycliff was part of a generation that came of age during the Civil Rights Movement and the nation’s slow march toward equality.

The book traces his journey through transformative moments: winning a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, living through the assassination of Fred Hampton and the Black Panther raid in Chicago, and discovering the power of journalism to reveal truth and hold power accountable. More than a chronicle of a journalist’s life, Before the Byline is a meditation on family, faith, race, and democracy. It explores how one man’s roots—in community, in church, and in history—nurtured a calling to tell stories that matter and to fight for a more inclusive America.

About the Author: Don Wycliff is a retired newspaper journalist, teacher and author. A native of Texas, he began his career there at the Houston Post (now defunct) and worked at papers in several cities, most notably New York and Chicago. He wrote editorials for five years at The New York Times and served for almost a decade as editorial page editor of the Chicago Tribune. At the Tribune his staff won one Pulitzer Prize and he was personally a finalist for the Pulitzer in 1996. He finished his working life in 2014 after teaching six years at Loyola University Chicago as Distinguished Journalist in Residence.

Wycliff is a 1969 graduate of the University of Notre Dame. He is the father of two grown sons, both of whom attended the public schools in Evanston and graduated from ETHS. He and his wife Pamela live now in South Bend, Indiana.

Getting here: We are located at 1620 Orrington Avenue, in downtown Evanston, just one block east of the Davis Street Metra, CTA, and PACE public transit stops. There is metered street parking as well as numerous parking garages nearby.

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