Maida C. Odom

Maida Cassandra Odom, a longtime journalist, educator, mentor, cherished sister to Vernon Odom Jr., beloved aunt of Corinne Sabelle and Vernon “Lane” III, and dear friend to many, had a passion for life well lived and justice for all.

Having bravely overcome two previous cancer diagnoses in the past three decades, Maida passed away suddenly on October 24, 2026, after a brief battle with metastatic breast cancer. She was 73.

Maida was born to Vernon L. Odom, Sr. and Sadie Elizabeth Harvey Odom in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 12, 1952. She was their youngest child, and both her parents preceded her in death. The family moved to Akron, Ohio, in 1953, where her father joined the staff of the local Urban League at the advent of the modern African American civil rights movement.

She was a star student through her early schooling, winning writing contests and other honors, and graduated from John R. Buchtel High school in 1971. She went on to attend the prestigious Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1974.

She pledged the Gamma Chi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at Northwestern, and in March 2026 celebrated her 50th anniversary as a soror with eight women who pledged with her. During her senior year, she served as president of the chapter. She was also a legacy member of the sorority, following in the footsteps of her mother and maternal grandmother. Maida carried the organization’s mission of inspiring excellence, strengthening sisterhood, and uplifting communities throughout her life.

After graduating from Northwestern, Maida joined the Akron Beacon Journal as a cub reporter and eventually became a columnist. She then accepted a position on the reporting staff of the Dayton Daily News before joining the newsroom of The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1978. Her broth-er, Vernon, had joined the reporter ranks of WPVI-TV, the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia, two years earlier.

Maida worked on The Inquirer’s city desk and in the Features department. On the city desk, she covered anti-poverty issues, education, the courts and stories about social justice. She also served as a shop steward for The Newspaper Guild, the union of professional journalists at The Inquirer. During her 22-year career at The Inquirer, she was considered a reporter who always got the story. She was a “real beat reporter” and thoroughly covered the issues, bringing a perspective to stories that elevated the newspaper’s coverage of urban life.

Maida was well-known for her coverage of MOVE, an activist and back-to-nature organization in Philadelphia during the 1980s. She risked her life on Mother’s Day 1985 to report from a West Philadelphia house when a standoff between neighbors, the Philadelphia Police Department, and MOVE reached a climax. She was evacuated just before a bomb was dropped on the house where MOVE members lived. Eleven died, six adults and five children, and the fire that ensued destroyed the entire neighborhood. Maida and her colleagues’ coverage was a finalist for the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting.

The traumatic experience of the MOVE bombing had a great impact on Maida’s life. She wrote Move Mocks Us All, a play about the experience. A reading was staged at a local theater in Philadelphia in the late 1990s, and in 2025 she was featured in the Logan Center for Investigative Reporting’s podcast, MOVE: Untangling the Tragedy. It was a joint project with The Inquirer and featured a recording of her reporting.

Maida didn’t just write about social justice issues affecting underserved communities. She also spoke up for women and minorities in the newsroom. She pushed for reporters of color to get better assignments and promotions.

Following in the footsteps of her parents, Maida fought for the rights of others. Both were active with civil rights issues in Akron, and a major boulevard in the city is named after her father for his leadership of the Urban League. Maida was not quiet if she believed she had been wronged or if others around her had been mistreated.

Her newsroom colleagues and friends all noted what a brilliant woman she was and how they admired her attention to detail in her journalistic work. The sentiment of her longtime friend and former newsroom colleague Roy Campbell describes how many felt about her. “Maida was a friend for life,” Campbell said. “She kept me under her loving wings, a big sister who championed me and loved me unconditionally.”

Maida resigned in 2000 from The Inquirer. She accepted a position as assistant professor of instruction in the Journalism Department of the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University in 2001 and was hired full-time on the faculty in 2005.

She oversaw an internship program for student journalists until she retired in 2019. Maida also developed the High School Journalism Workshop, which brought together the Temple journalism students with Philadelphia high school students and teachers with an interest in journalism, according to Dean David Boardman. When he interviewed for the Dean’s position, he said Maida was one of his toughest questioners, particularly on matters of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Maida continued her own academic career at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Master’s Degree in Liberal Arts in 2004. She worked closely with Dr. Mary Frances Berry, who served as chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and was a professor there. Maida served as her research assistant for one of her books.

Maida also had a position as the Newsletter Editor for AFSCME 1199C, the Philadelphia union that represents healthcare and hospital workers. She worked there from 2005 to 2012, creating an evening training program for the workers so they would test well when applying for promotions.

While Maida was passionate about her journalistic work, she was an active and longtime member at St. Matthew AME Church. Over the years, she served as a trustee, taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, worked in the food pantry and culinary ministries, and was the in-house journalist for a special council of the church.

She was active in the Cover to Cover Book Club in Philadelphia. Her fellow book club members noted “she was an avid reader, was known for her insightful perspectives on each book select-ed, and hosted lively book talks.” Her book club sisters said they appreciated her historical knowledge, wit and passion. She also served on the board of the Scribe Video Center, a nonprofit media arts hub in Philadelphia and was an early and active member of the National Association of Black Journalists Philadelphia chapter, serving on its Board of Directors in the 1970s.

Maida always made time for her niece and nephew, Corinne and Lane. She often bragged about their many accomplishments and was present at frequent family dinners and all of their major milestones — birthdays, school performances, graduations and other life events.

She also spent time with the children of friends, at backyard barbecues and sharing in the mile-stone accomplishments in their lives. She was adored by the daughters of her dear friend, Dr. Benay Dabney, who said they often asked when she was returning as she prepared to leave following a visit. She also supported her godchildren Shari Lawrence and Sean Long, in their many endeavors.

After retiring, Maida would travel often to Negril, Jamaica, for several months at a time. She made friends there and relished her time on the beach. “She had a great view of the ocean from her third-floor apartment. She often said this was one of the best things she had done in her life,” said her longtime friend Susan Faust Davis.

Maida is survived by her brother, Vernon Odom Jr.; a loving sister-in-law, Wanda Motley Odom; her niece, Corinne Sabelle Odom; her nephew, Vernon “Lane” Odom III; godchildren, Shari Lawrence and Sean Long, and a host of cousins, other relatives and adoring friends.

In Maida’s memory, donations can be made to the Maida Cassandra Odom Fund, Akron Com-munity Foundation, 345 W. Cedar Street, Akron, OH 44307
ak-roncf.org/give/MaidaCassandraOdomFund