National Association of Black Journalists


The National Association of Black Journalists is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality programs and services to and advocate on behalf of black journalists. The organization has worked for diversity and to increase the number of minorities in newsrooms across the country.
The association's national office is on the main campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. The current president is Dorothy Tucker, Investigative reporter for WBBM-TV CBS Chicago, and the executive director is Drew Berry. The NABJ states that it has a membership of 4,100 and is the largest organization of journalists of color in the United States. The organization was one of the four minority journalist member associations in the until they seceded from the organization in Spring 2011.
The organization's annual Salute to Excellence Awards honors coverage of African-American people and subjects. Awards given include Journalist of the Year, Emerging Journalist and Lifetime Achievement; past honorees have included Lester Holt, Ed Bradley, Carole Simpson, Byron Pitts, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Bernard Shaw, Gwen Ifill, and Michele Norris. NABJ also maintains the NABJ Hall of Fame, which is designed to honor black journalists.

History

The founding meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists was held on December 12th, 1975 in Washington D.C. at the Sheraton Park Hotel. 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 saw fit its creation because at the time, there were associations of other professions including teachers, lawyers and doctors and believed journalists to be as important and other professions. A 1968 Kerner Commission Report mentioned how small a role black people held in a white media environment. 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 12th, 1975, the organization explicitly stated their excitement to cover the 1976 presidential campaigns.

Founders

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 Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Hillary Clinton, and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. The convention features hundreds of recruiters and as the largest career fair in journalism, is among the best means of finding a journalism position in the industry.
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.
Future locations of the NABJ Convention and Career Fair include Washington, D.C. in 2020; Houston, Texas in 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada in 2022; Birmingham, Alabama in 2023; Chicago, Illinois in 2024; Cleveland, Ohio in 2025 and Atlanta, Georgia in 2026.
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


Presidents

Twenty-one people have served as president of the National Association of Black Journalists:

Awards

During its Annual Convention and Career Fair, NABJ presents various awards at the annual Salute to Excellence Awards Gala.

Journalist of the Year

*