National Association of Black Journalists

The founding meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists was held on December 12, 1975, in Washington, D.C., at the Sheraton Park Hotel (now the Marriott Wardman Park). The interim committee for a National Association of Black Journalists, The Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, Chicago Association of Black Journalists, San Francisco Association of Black Journalists and the Washington Association of Black Journalists hosted the founding to create the National Association of Black Journalists based on the work of the Black Perspective, a 1967 group of journalists. The National Association of Black Journalists was founded to increase the presence of black people in mainstream media and change the misrepresentation of black people. The organization used the constitution of The Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia. Founded on Friday, December 12, 1975, the organization explicitly stated their excitement to cover the 1976 presidential campaigns. Founders • Norma Adams-Wade, Dallas Morning News • Carole Bartel, CORE Magazine • Edward Blackwell, Milwaukee Journal • Reginald Bryant, Black Perspective on the News • Maureen Bunyan, WTOP-TV (Washington, D.C.) • Crispin Campbell, WNET-TV (New York City) • Charlie Cobb, WHUR (Washington, D.C.) • Marilyn Darling, WHYY-TV (Wilmington, Delaware) • Leon Dash, Washington Post • Joe Davidson, Philadelphia Bulletin • Allison J. Davis, WBZ-TV (Boston) • Paul Delaney, The New York Times • William Dilday, WLBT-TV (Jackson, Mississippi) • Sandra Rosen Dillard, Denver Post • Joel Dreyfuss, Washington Post • Sam Ford, WCCO-TV (Minneapolis) • David Gibson, Mutual Black Network • Sandra Gilliam-Beale, WHIO-TV (Dayton, Ohio) • Bob Greenlee, New Haven Register • Martha Griffin, National Public Radio • Derwood Hall, WSOC-TV (Charlotte, North Carolina) • Bob Hayes, San Francisco Examiner • Toni Jones, Detroit Free Press • Mal Johnson, Cox Broadcasting • Vernon Jarrett, Chicago Tribune • Claude Lewis, Philadelphia Bulletin • H. Chuku Lee, Africa Journal Ltd. • Sandra Dawson Long, News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) • Pluria Marshall, freelancer • Acel Moore, Philadelphia Inquirer • Luix Overbea, The Christian Science Monitor • Les Payne, Newsday • Alex Poinsett, Ebony • Claudia Polley, NBC News • Richard Rambeau, Project Bait (Detroit) • W. Curtis Riddle, Louisville Courier-Journal • Max Robinson, WTOP-TV (Washington, D.C.) • Charlotte Roy, Detroit Free Press • Vince Sanders, National Black Network • Chuck Stone, Philadelphia Daily News • Jeannye Thornton, U.S. News & World Report • Francis Ward, Los Angeles Times • John C. White, Washington Star • DeWayne Wickham, Baltimore Sun • Paul Brock, Founding NABJ Executive Director == Annual convention and career fair ==

NABJ annually holds the nation's largest journalism convention and career fair each summer with plenary sessions and workshops for career and professional development. Recent speakers have included former U.S. Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Hillary Clinton, and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. The NABJ Career Fair encompasses the nations broadcast, print, and online media including recruiters from Gannett Corporation, NBC News, CNN, Bloomberg, Google, ESPN, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, and Tribune Company. NABJ held its first convention in October 1976 at Texas Southern University, which at the time had recently established the second school of communications at a historically black college or university in the nation (the first was the School of Communications at Howard University). Locations of the NABJ Convention and Career Fair include Las Vegas in 2022; Birmingham in 2023; Chicago in 2024; Cleveland in 2025; Atlanta in 2026; and Houston in 2027. In October 2014, CNN withdrew its support for the 2015 Convention and Career Fair after the NABJ criticized the network for its lack of diversity on air and its treatment of black employees. == Scholarships ==

The organization also distributes more than $100,000 in scholarships to African-American college journalism students, places 14-16 students at paid internships and sponsors short courses for students at historically black colleges and universities. == Task forces ==

• Arts & Entertainment Task Forces – members who cover arts and entertainment • Associate Member's – part-time journalists, educators, marketing and public relations professionals • Copy Editors – copy desk managers, news editors, design editors • Digital Journalism • NABJ Founders – NABJ Founders, past presidents, and former national board members • LGBT Taskforce – lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members • Sports Task Force – sports reporters, correspondents and analysts • Visual Task Force – photojournalists, design/informational graphics • Young Journalists – journalists in their first few years • World Affairs – promotes worldwide coverage of African/African-Americans == Presidents ==

Twenty-one people have served as president of the National Association of Black Journalists: • Chuck Stone, 1975–77 • Vernon Jarrett, 1977–79 • Bob Reid, 1979–81 • Les Payne, 1981–83 • Merv Aubespin, 1983–85 • Al Fitzpatrick, 1985–87 • DeWayne Wickham, 1987–89 • Thomas Morgan III, 1989–91 • Sidmel Estes-Sumpter, 1991–93 • Dorothy Butler Gilliam, 1993–95 • Arthur Fennell, 1995–97 • Vanessa Williams, 1997–99 • William W. Sutton Jr., 1999–2001 • Condace Pressley, 2001–03 • Herbert Lowe, 2003–05 • Bryan Monroe, 2005–07 • Barbara Ciara, 2007–09 • Kathy Y. Times, 2009–11 • Gregory Lee Jr., 2011–2013 • Bob Butler, 2013–2015 • Sarah Glover, 2015–2019 • Dorothy Tucker, 2019–present ==Awards==

During its Annual Convention and Career Fair, NABJ presents various awards at the annual Salute to Excellence Awards Gala. Journalist of the Year Journalist of Distinction • 2016 – Steve Crump, WBTV • 2017 – Leoneda Inge, WUNC Radio • 2018 – Everett Marshburn, Milwaukee PBS • 2019 – Mel Showers, WKRG • 2020 – Elaine Houston, WNYT • 2021 – Jenise Griffin, Florida Courier/Daytona Times • 2022 – Imara Jones, TransLash Media • 2023 – Jamie Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago Legacy Award Journalism Educator of the Year Student Journalist of the Year Community Service Award Emerging Journalist of the Year Pat Tobin Media Professional Award Chuck Stone Lifetime Achievement Award Percy Qoboza Foreign Journalist Best Practices Student Chapter of the Year Chapter of the Year President's Award ==References==