Dorothy Hadley Bayen

Dorothy Hadley Bayen (20 November 1906 – 7 April 1988) was an African-American activist and journalist who became a war correspondent from 1935 to 1936 during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War whilst she was living in Ethiopia. Bayen fled Ethiopia with her husband Malaku E. Bayen and returned to the United States following the invasion of Addis Ababa, where she devoted her time and energy organising support for the Ethiopian liberation effort until her husband's death in 1940.

Early life Dorothy Pauline Hadley was born in Evanston, Illinois on 20 November 1906. Her father Joseph Hadley was a waterworks labourer. Her mother, Dora Hadley, born 27 February 1881, was a housewife.

Bayen attended Foster Middle School then Evanston Township High School graduating in 1924. After finishing high school Bayen initially attended Northwestern University, located in her hometown of Evanston. In addition to studying Bayen also worked at the university, likely to help finance her education. Bayen later transferred to Howard, a predominantly black university in Washington D.C., where she also took on work whilst pursuing her studies.

Marriage and move to Ethiopia Bayen met her husband, Malaku E. Bayen, whilst they were both students at Howard University. He was studying medicine. They married in Fairfax, Virginia on 29 September 1931. She was 25, he was 31.

Bayen moved to Ethiopia with her husband and young son in 1935, upon completion of his studies and qualification as a medical doctor.

After a few months in Ethiopia, Bayen was contacted by the New York Amsterdam News and in February 1936, she became its wartime correspondent, reporting on the Italo-Ethiopian war for the African-American newspaper.

Ethiopian World Federation (E.W.F.) On arrival in the US, the Bayens sought to galvanise support for Ethiopia, particularly amongst African-Americans, building on the outrage felt by many at the invasion of this sovereign African state that had escaped the clutches of European colonialism, the fate of so many African nations. Bayen was instrumental in the founding of the Ethiopian World Federation (E.W.F.) spearheaded by her husband in 1937. The first President of the E.W.F. was Dr. Lorenzo H. King, Pastor of St. Mark's Methodist Church, Harlem. Dorothy Bayen became one of three directors of the E.W.F in September 1937, along with Goulbourne M. Blacknett and Matthew E. Gardner. The other founding members of the E.W.F were Aida Bastian, Edora Paris, Warren Harrigan, and Louis Paul.

Soon after its inception, the E.W.F. launched a fundraising campaign. Despite efforts to garner support from sympathetic white Americans, the Bayens found that black America was its main source of funds. In an undated letter, Bayen wrote:"We have been living downtown at the Rex Hotel 106 W. 47th St, to give the nordics a chance to aid us if they wished. We didn't want them to say “You went up to Harlem to the blacks to get help from them – not us.” That is the reason we located down there. In the five weeks there, we got $7 from whites and around $1,700 from blacks so we decided that they do not intend to help. It is my belief that the redemption of Ethiopia lies within the hands of the black peoples of the world and that the unity of all the black peoples and the redemption of Ethiopia are convergent(?) problems. As you know, our fault and our weakness has been in the fact that we will not unite.” which in its first year rose from a circulation of 2,000 to 10,000 per week. The Voice of Ethiopia simultaneously denounced the war in Ethiopian and the denial of civil rights for African-Americans in the U.S. due to racial discrimination and segregation.

Later life Throughout their marriage, Bayen's husband suffered from mental health problems. He eventually died of pneumonia on 4 May 1940 whilst on admission to a mental health institution in New York. His death came exactly one year before the war in Ethiopia ended. Bayen suffered a further loss after her husband died when her mother, Dora Hadley, died two years later on 12 June 1942.

Following the death of her husband, Bayen appears to have stepped back from political activism, returning once more to work at her alma mater, Howard University. In 1947 she returned for a brief visit to Ethiopia with her 15-year-old son.

Bayen died on 7 April 1988 in Washington D.C. Her personal papers were donated to Yale University by her sister Leora Hadley.