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Univision's 2015 Upfront

Source: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty

As many in the Latinx community continue to explore the conversation on anti-Blackness within the culture, one classic media company is taking a step in the right direction.

Ilia Calderón will be the first Afro-Latina journalist not just to anchor for Univision, but the first to anchor a weekday primetime newscast  for  a major broadcast network in the U.S. In addition to Noticiero Univision, Calderón will also serve as co-host of Aquí y Ahora, which airs on Sunday nights.

Univision officially announced on Wednesday that Calderón will replace anchor María Elena Salinas, who has served as a staple on the network for over 30 years. Her last day working on the 6:30 p.m. broadcast will be December 8.

“We are delighted that Ilia Calderón will join Jorge Ramos at the helm of Noticero Univision beginning next month,” said Daniel Coronell, president of Univision News.  “Ilia’s professionalism and experience, together with her personal charisma, journalistic integrity, knowledge of the U.S. Hispanic community and proven appeal with our diverse audience make her the ideal person to succeed María Elena Salinas.”

Calderón will be joining Jorge Ramos, the award-winning Mexican-American  journalist who has developed a legacy as the “Latin American Walter Cronkite.” He earned crossover coverage when he was removed from a news conference at the Iowa caucus by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

In Calderón’s native Colombia, she was the first Black woman to ever host a national news program in her country. She’s an Emmy award-winning journalist and a couple of months back received world wide attention for interviewing Ku Klux Klan leader Chris Barker on his property in North Carolina for Aquí y Ahora.

Calderón has called it “a great honor and an enormous responsibility for me” as Salinas has been “an invaluable voice for the Hispanic community in this country, an icon of excellence in journalism and a role model for millions of Latinas, so I know I have big shoes to fill.”