Lem Tucker

Who was Lem Tucker?

Lemuel Tucker was an American journalist.

Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Tucker graduated Central Michigan University in 1960.

Tucker was one of the first African Americans to work as a television network reporter. He began his career at NBC in 1965 as a general assignment news correspondent, and served as news director at WOR-TV in New York City from 1970 to 1971. He moved to ABC in 1972 and to CBS in 1977, where he worked until his death.

He was winner of two Emmy Awards, and made the master list of Nixon political opponents for his reporting.

Although Lem Tucker's life was brief, his career accomplishments were memorable.

Tucker was the first African American elected to the position of student body president at CMU. That election took place when less than one percent of the student body was black. Previous to his election, only one other African American had been elected to a similar position in the United States. While at Central, Tucker was considered one of the university's top forensic students. He served as a chapter president of Pi Kappa Delta, a national speech honorary fraternity.