A few months ago, I was out to lunch with a friend, who asked about my most memorable moment as a reporter.  Without thinking, I immediately responded that I was lucky enough to have interviewed, twice, legendary White House Correspondent Helen Thomas, an icon in American journalism. 

I’ll never forget those two unique opportunities. They remain the most memorable moments of my entire journalism career. 

I initially started taking an interest in Thomas during my time as a journalism student at Wayne State University, the school that she had also graduated from. 

I fondly recall the photo of her interviewing President John F. Kennedy in the journalism school’s library. She was living proof to so many students of what they could accomplish and how far they could make it in the profession. 

The first time that I interviewed Thomas, I was fresh out of college and only 23.

It was in December 2010, while on assignment for The Arab American News.  She was speaking at a workshop on anti-Arab bias in Dearborn. She appeared to be very happy, despite resigning from Hearst Newspapers as a columnist only months earlier; after she had made some controversial remarks about Israel and Palestine. 

During the event Thomas said that she wouldn’t take back the remarks that led to her resignation.  She went on to make additional comments in her speech that would subsequently lead to awards in her name being pulled.   

Dado with Thomas in 2010 at a workshop on anti-Arab bias.

After learning of her passing on July 20, I immediately thought, “Helen Thomas is not dead; she can never die.”  You see, great people, like Helen Thomas, live on for generations in the work of people that they inspire and impact through their life’s work. 

I know Helen Thomas still lives in me and in so many others. 

If she taught us anything, it was the importance of having the courage to ask the tough questions, which is a large part of the legacy that she left behind. She showed the world the meaning of a real journalist, and I don’t quite think anyone has done a better job. 

My second encounter with Thomas was different than the first, or actually, she was different.

It was at an event for the Palestine Cultural Office in 2011, and Thomas was being presented with the “Relentless Courage Award” for her audacity to speak truth to power.

Wayne State University and the Society of Professional Journalists had just revoked awards in her name, because of the controversial remarks that she had made at the workshop on anti-Arab bias, where we had first met. 

I could tell that she was hurt.  Despite this, reporters continued to bombard her with questions, and she answered all of them.   

Being forced to resign, after a career that spanned more than seven decades, didn’t seem to have upset her, but it was clear the events that had unfolded with her awards being pulled, afterwards, did. 

Despite the change in her demeanor, this would be the day that Thomas, a woman I had greatly admired for years, would impress me the most. 

The speech she delivered that night and the comments she made during our interview, showed how true she remained to herself and what she believed in. 

When she took the stage and began speaking, I was afraid that more trouble was ahead, as she gave a speech in support of Palestinian rights and reiterated some of the  same remarks that had ended her career and resulted in her name being removed from awards. Thomas had paid a heavy price for expressing such views, but she never let it stop her, and she wasn’t about to then either. She had too much courage to do so.  

 I’ll never forget the bracelet that she proudly wore, which simply read, “Palestine.” I remember thinking that it wasn’t a good idea, because of the presence of press at the event and the possibility claims that she was anti-Semitic would be fueled. 

“The Israelis have been tyrannizing the Palestinians for 60 years and the Arab awakening now scares them, as it should,” she said in her speech. 

When I asked whether she would take any of her remarks back, she responded, “Never.  I spoke the truth. I don’t believe in human tyranny, which is what is happening in Palestine.”  

When asked what journalists should do when they are afraid to speak about certain topics, because of the consequences that they could face, Thomas told me they need to have courage; especially today; and that they should never be afraid. 

“They should challenge the oppressors; challenge the Israeli AIPAC.  And who in the hell are they?  National censors? We should never be afraid of them; we should declare our rights,” she said. 

Despite all the retaliation that she faced, she remained true to herself; by having the courage to fight for what she believed in…Until the end. 

Later that night, I approached Thomas and gave her a personal letter. In it, I told her how much I admired her and shared with her what she had meant to me. 

 I also told her not to worry about everything that had happened. I’ll never know whether, or not, she read it.