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On The Record

Baltimore's AFRO News covered the real 'Lady in the Lake'

By Sheilah Kast,
Melissa Gerr
Published August 23, 2024 at 10:48 AM EDT
An image of the Baltimore Afro American newspaper from Feb. 11, 1978 that refers to the continued mystery surrounding the death of West Baltimore resident Shirley Widgeon Parker in 1969. The stories surrounding Parker's death, and that of Esther Leibowitz, a young Jewish girl from Pikesville found dead months after her the same year, are at the center of the fictionalized Apple TV limited series, 'Lady in the Lake.' Photo: AFRO News Archives
An image of the Baltimore Afro American newspaper from Feb. 11, 1978 that refers to the continued mystery surrounding the death of West Baltimore resident Shirley Widgeon Parker in 1969. The stories surrounding Parker's death, and that of Esther Leibowitz, a young Jewish girl from Pikesville found dead months after her the same year, are at the center of the fictionalized Apple TV limited series, 'Lady in the Lake.' Photo: AFRO News Archives

Laura Lippman's novel and the Apple TV series 'Lady in the Lake’ fictionalized the real stories of two tragic deaths in 1969 Baltimore. How their stories were told hinged on which media outlet told them. Baltimore’s Afro News publisher, Dr. Frances 'Toni' Draper, lived through the coverage. She reflects on how reporting on Black communities has changed -- and how it hasn’t.

Links: AFRO archival images, AFRO recent reporting on Shirley Parker's story.

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On The Record On the RecordWYPR ProgramsBaltimore Afro-American newspaper
Sheilah Kast
Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
See stories by Sheilah Kast
Melissa Gerr
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'
See stories by Melissa Gerr