On my mind I’m writing to you from the National Association of Black Journalists conference in sunny and humid Miami. Being surrounded by so many black journalists and media professionals is still surreal for me. I saw maybe a handful of black students and teachers in my entire educational experience let alone in my journalism program. We’re discussing issues and stories around health equity, criminal justice reform, the 2020 election, culture reporting, sexual violence, education, the census, business while also actually centering black voices. Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Cory Booker came out to talk about their presidential campaigns and answer our questions. It sounds so basic, but I honestly never got that message that stories from communities I was a part of mattered. I didn’t learn how to find them and fight for them to be covered as anything other than niche stories. I also love meeting so many black experts on a wide range of topics, because another important part of making media diverse and inclusive is changing who gets cited in stories. Black doctors, correctional officers, statisticians, educators and lawyers. They all matter.
You must write it
You must write it
You must write it
On my mind I’m writing to you from the National Association of Black Journalists conference in sunny and humid Miami. Being surrounded by so many black journalists and media professionals is still surreal for me. I saw maybe a handful of black students and teachers in my entire educational experience let alone in my journalism program. We’re discussing issues and stories around health equity, criminal justice reform, the 2020 election, culture reporting, sexual violence, education, the census, business while also actually centering black voices. Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Cory Booker came out to talk about their presidential campaigns and answer our questions. It sounds so basic, but I honestly never got that message that stories from communities I was a part of mattered. I didn’t learn how to find them and fight for them to be covered as anything other than niche stories. I also love meeting so many black experts on a wide range of topics, because another important part of making media diverse and inclusive is changing who gets cited in stories. Black doctors, correctional officers, statisticians, educators and lawyers. They all matter.