It’s time to provide NABJ members real protection. In our 50th year, I believe NABJ should be able to promise its members more than carefully worded statements and online town halls after the harm is done—or ignored.
So here’s what I’m proposing if elected president: a rapid-response team that will do what press releases never could—deliver consequences, create accountability and make sure companies know there’s a powerful organization watching, ready to defend our members, loudly and visibly, when it really matters.
NABJ’s New Rapid-Response Team
Media companies are cutting staff and rolling back support for diversity, equity and inclusion, and they’re not subtle about who’s first out the door. Those who stay face new kinds of retaliation: assignments pulled, jobs rewritten, Twitter whispers about who’s “difficult.” When that happens, silence isn’t an option.
It’s not just unfair—it’s destabilizing our profession. We lose mentors, disrupt lives and send a message to the next generation that this career comes with an invisible target on your back. That’s not a trade-off Black journalists should have to make in 2025—or ever.
If NABJ can’t press pause and defend its people when the stakes are highest, what does the association even offer? It’s time to move past “raising awareness” and step into real action.
What the Rapid-Response Team Will Actually Do
This isn’t another committee with a catchy name. This isn’t “support” that ends at a tweet. Here’s what members can expect when they reach out for help:
- Immediate outreach: When a member reports they have been unfairly fired, laid off or experienced serious harassment, the team contacts them immediately. You hear from people, not bots or automated emails.
- Legal partnership: We don’t expect anyone to learn employment law overnight. The team connects members with employment attorneys and legal defense organizations who have helped Black workers win before.
- Amplified advocacy: If diplomacy doesn’t deliver, NABJ will use its national voice. That means pressuring employers publicly and directly through media channels, advocacy partners and social media. “We’ll look into it” gets replaced by “What are you doing about it today?”
- Allied muscle: We’re not going alone. We’ll stand with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Urban League, National Action Network and labor-focused organizations like the Writers Guild of America, NewsGuild-CWA and others—groups with a record of pushing corporations to do the right thing or pay a price.
- Institutional memory: We’ll start keeping a detailed database—secure and confidential—of companies and managers who target, harass or quietly push out NABJ members. Patterns matter. When the same names come up again and again, we’ll have proof, not just rumors.
Why This Matters for NABJ—and for Everyone
This is about more than fighting bad bosses. It’s about making NABJ membership mean something tangible—the knowledge that when the worst happens, someone is ready to fight for you, not just with kind words, but with real action.
It’s a commitment to every NABJ member, especially our newest and youngest, that you’re not disposable. That you’re never just a statistic. Our organization should back its people when it counts most, because the losses hurt us all.
I’ve covered layoffs and corporate scandals. I’ve watched entire teams disappear while the C-suite moves on untouched. If we want journalism to mean anything for Black reporters, we have to defend the people doing the work—not just the idea of equity, but the lived reality.
A rapid-response team isn’t the finish line. It’s the new minimum for a modern NABJ. It demonstrates to partners—from college chapters to media companies to national unions—that we can move quickly, hold people accountable and put our power to work for our own.
This new approach is made possible because we will expand NABJ’s sources of support beyond the companies that mistreat our members. By creating and deepening relationships with trillion-dollar tech firms, financial institutions and major philanthropies—and hiring a CTO, CFO and director of philanthropic partnerships—NABJ can create multi-million-dollar partnerships with leaders outside legacy media.
We currently have over $8 million in assets, giving NABJ the financial strength to stand up to any company that tries to pressure us or threatens to pull convention funding. That freedom lets us confront bad actors directly, without worrying about losing financial support from organizations that don’t treat our people right.
A Clear Role for Partners
NABJ isn’t the only group in this fight. Dozens of organizations can bring help, leverage and spotlight. By forging active alliances with groups like the NAACP, and the Amazon Labor Union, we’ll ensure that when companies cross the line, they face coordinated, serious responses—not fragmented, easy-to-ignore outcry.
It also gives our advocacy weight in the wider world. When we show we can defend our own, both in and outside newsrooms, we are taken more seriously in every boardroom and every negotiation.
Building a Culture of Real Support
If you’ve made it this far, you probably know the feeling: You see the memo, you watch friends disappear, you hear leaders promise “transparency”—then nothing changes. I want NABJ to be the group that calls, acts and follows up.
That’s how we keep talent in the pipeline. That’s how we build trust and value—not just for convention speakers, but for the everyday members who make this organization matter.
Let’s Build It Together
We are past the era of statements and patience. As NABJ president, I will create a team that builds by protecting, that raises our value by being relentless advocates, and that never stops pressing for more—not just for some, but for all of us.
Let’s set a new standard. Let’s show what real protection and solidarity look like. Let’s build.