Let’s be real: Too many of us love NABJ, but feel left out, let down, or flat-out ignored.
Since Chicago, I’ve been listening—on calls, in DMs, at meetups, on Zoom. And the message is loud and clear: NABJ isn’t showing up for you and your career.
- “I love NABJ, but the convention costs more than a European vacation—and for what?”
- “When I needed help, NABJ was nowhere.”
- “There’s nothing at the convention for mid-career pros like me.”
- “My newsroom won’t pay for NABJ anymore—they say it’s just a party convention.”
And it’s not just one group of people who have lost their faith. Freelancers, mid-career journalists, even longtime members and past leaders are telling me: NABJ is stuck. We’ve lost our activist edge. We’re not building up the next generation or fighting for working journalists.
Here’s the truth: Our most talented members are walking away. They’re taking their skills, their energy, and their ideas elsewhere.
That’s why I’m running for NABJ President.
I’m not part of the old guard. I haven’t been in national leadership. But I’ve been in your shoes—frustrated, overlooked, and ready for real change.
We can’t afford two more years of the same. NABJ needs bold, fresh leadership and a plan that actually works for you.
Here’s what I’m bringing:
- Accountability: No more empty statements. NABJ will stand up for Black journalists—loudly, proudly, and with real action. No more mealy-mouthed statements that say we’re demanding answers without actually demanding any answers.
- Transparency: No back-room deals. No secret budgets. No more decisions about conventions, speakers, or spending without member input. No more inviting divisive politicians to our conferences without any input from the executive board or members. No more hiding our investments, our assets and our staff salaries from our membership. No more 8 a.m. Saturday budget meetings.
- Real Value: Year-round events, not just one expensive convention. Programming for freelancers, mid-career pros, and everyone in between. Partnerships with HBCUs, the Black press, and other journalism groups—nationwide.
- Affordability: We’ll cut convention costs and make sure everyone can access what NABJ has to offer.
How? By hiring great people, managing our money properly, and shifting from a scarcity mindset to a growth mindset. We are stronger when everybody eats.
I’ve studied the bylaws, the budget, and our history. I’ve talked to lapsed members, veteran members, and new voices. I’ve had one-on-one conversations with past presidents Sarah Glover, Bob Butler, Greg Lee, Kathy Times and Vanessa Williams. I know what NABJ can be—and I know how to get us there.
I’ve been an NABJ member for 17 years. I’m tired of watching our organization fade. If you are too, join me. Let’s build a new NABJ—one that lifts, leads and unites us all.
Ready for something new? Vote for change. Vote for an NABJ that works for YOU.
#TimeForChange #LeadLiftUnifyNABJ #LeadershipForEveryoneNABJ
It’s time to stop asking what you can do for NABJ and start asking what NABJ can do for you
I keep hearing the same story, and it’s one that needs to stop being told.
I’ve been talking with NABJ members since the 2024 NABJ convention in Chicago ended. I’ve spoken to folks on the phone, in person, on social media and on Zoom. People keep telling me the same thing: NABJ isn’t providing any value to their career.
“I love NABJ.”
“NABJ is like family.”
“NABJ is so important.”
…
“But I’m tired of paying the price of a European vacation to go to Cleveland”
“But when I needed help, NABJ had nothing for me.”
“But there’s nothing at the NABJ conventions that helps me in my career.”
“But my employer won’t pay for me to go to the convention anymore because it provides no real value to me or anyone else in the newsroom.”
I spoke with an NABJ member in his 30s earlier this week who told me, “Not enough is done to help the actual working professionals. Also, we’re afraid to offend or challenge companies. I love the social camaraderie but we’ve lost the activist edge.”
I had another conversation with a member in his 20s who‘s a freelance reporter. He told me, “People in my position don’t always have a place here. Usually, programs are available to veterans who have many years of experience or emerging journalists who are basically college students with little to no experience. There’s nothing really for those of us in the middle who are trying to find our place and could use a leg up.”
A member in her 40s, who has been an NABJ member for more than 20 years, told me last month that she’s done with NABJ, “Because, frankly, for me there is no value in the NABJ convention. And what else is that organization offering?”
A former member in his 60s told me recently that he stepped away from NABJ because he was, “Tired of the nonsense. The organization was so focused on all the wrong things and so blind to the way the world is changing that it can’t help me or anyone like me.”
Every one of these people is successful. Every one is thriving in their career. Every one has incredible resources they could be bringing to our organization. Instead they’re disengaging from NABJ and taking their talents and their energy elsewhere.
This is why I’m running for NABJ president. NABJ is failing us. We are losing our best and brightest minds and the organization is falling apart. We can’t afford another two years of the same old thought process from the same old leaders who have marched us into this malaise.
What we need is bold leadership and a real plan to turn NABJ into the organization that Black journalists need it to be in 2025 and beyond.
That bold leadership starts with accountability — creating an NABJ with backbone that stands up for and stands with Black journalists. No more mealy-mouthed statements that say we’re demanding answers without actually demanding any answers.
It leads with transparency – no more back-room deals to take our conventions to cities without any explanation to members. No more inviting divisive politicians to our conferences without any input from the executive board or members. No more hiding our investments, our assets and our staff salaries from our membership. No more 8 a.m. Saturday budget meetings.
And that bold leadership is based on big ideas, a clear blueprint to make them happen and a roadmap to get there. We will create more local and regional events around the country. We will enhance and improve convention programming so that members at all career levels can grow in their careers. We will reconnect and rebuild our relationships with other diverse journalism groups, the Black press and college students across the country, especially at HBCUs. And we will reduce the cost of convention attendance, so that everyone can benefit from what NABJ has to offer.
We will accomplish all of these things by hiring great people, properly managing the organization’s money and changing the outlook of this organization from a deficit mindset to a growth mindset – understanding that we are stronger when everybody eats.
I’ve spent months pouring over NABJ’s tax filings, reading our bylaws and every line of the NABJ constitution and talking to members, including past presidents Sarah Glover, Bob Butler, Greg Lee, Kathy Times and Vanessa Williams. I know what NABJ needs to do and I know how to do it.
I’ve been a member of NABJ for 17 years and I’m tired of watching the organization I love waste away. Join me in creating a new NABJ. Let’s lead. Let’s lift. And let’s unify NABJ.