{"id":3853,"date":"2025-08-08T15:15:53","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T20:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/?p=3853"},"modified":"2025-08-09T10:30:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T15:30:28","slug":"nabj-founders-reflect-on-50-years-of-journalism-sacrifice-and-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/nabj-founders-reflect-on-50-years-of-journalism-sacrifice-and-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"NABJ founders reflect on 50 years of journalism, sacrifice and legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kimora Wong Sing, The Monitor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When DeWayne Wickham was in second grade, the public library served as his after-school caretaker. While his parents worked, the library opened his imagination and laid the foundation for a lifetime of storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy first introduction to journalism came through listening to stories about my neighborhood,\u201d  said Wickham, one of the 44 founders of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). \u201cCuriosity, I tell people, is the trunk of the tree for a journalist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1975, he joined 43 other Black journalists in Washington, D.C., to take a bold step toward change, founding NABJ. Wickham also served as NABJ president from 1987-1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, Black journalists were largely absent from American newsrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I graduated in 1974, there were very few Black journalists in daily newspapers or on television,\u201d Wickham said. \u201cGetting access was the first challenge. Once in, staying and advancing, that was another mountain.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
NABJ Founder DeWayne Wickham signs the official attendance book at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. This ritual was created to acknowledge the original signing document of all 44 founders. ARMANI ROSS\/ NABJ Monitor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The founding meeting drew bold personalities, including Chuck Stone, NABJ\u2019s first president and a respected Philadelphia columnist, and Vernon Jarrett, a legendary Chicago journalist who once worked with W.E.B. Du Bois.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChuck and Vernon inspired me the most,\u201d Wickham said. \u201cChuck was so respected, Black men facing arrest would go to the newsroom to surrender to him, believing he could protect them from police brutality. That tells you the kind of trust and power he held.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Davidson, a longtime NABJ member and founder, said his journey started in the eighth grade with a journalism class that sparked a lifelong interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never wanted to be at the center of things, but I always wanted to know what was going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wickham recalled that not everyone at the founding meeting was ready to take the leap. Some feared backlash for aligning with a group focused on Black journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were afraid of losing their jobs for associating with an organization for Black journalists,\u201d said Wickham. \u201cBut those of us who did sign, it was a risk we were willing to take.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allison Davis, another founding member, didn\u2019t know she was walking into history when she arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was just visiting my parents in D.C.,\u201d Davis said. \u201cA friend dragged me to what I thought was a reception. Next thing I know, I\u2019m at a meeting with 80 people and being appointed parliamentarian of a new organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davis quickly became a cornerstone in NABJ\u2019s early years, helping draft its first constitution and serving on the executive board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest obstacle was building a foundation,\u201d she said. \u201cAny organization needs that to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandra Weaver was 23 and one of just three Black journalists at the News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, when she heard about the meeting that would shape her future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realize we were founding a whole organization,\u201d she said. \u201cI was just excited to be around other Black journalists. That alone was a defining moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weaver recalled the early challenges of working in a newsroom where she often felt isolated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were two Black men on staff, one in sports, one in the Washington bureau, and me,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I still didn\u2019t see anyone who looked like me in the newsroom every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
NABJ Founder DeWayne Wickham signs the official attendance book at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. ARMANI ROSS\/ NABJ Monitor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Weaver became active in NABJ, starting a local chapter in Wilmington and getting more involved after moving to Philadelphia. She rose through the ranks at The Philadelphia Inquirer, becoming managing editor and later vice president for news, a path marked by daily struggles and steady purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had to fight to get the kinds of assignments that would land on the front page,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThen I was told I didn\u2019t have enough front-page stories to qualify for a raise. But I wasn\u2019t the one making those decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From planning early conventions, including the first at Texas Southern University after hotels refused to book NABJ without a credit line, to mentoring the next generation, the founders built something they hope will last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davidson, who hasn\u2019t missed a convention since the beginning, said showing up was about more than networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur presence showed a level of dedication and determination in what kind of role we wanted journalism to play,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sacrifices are outweighed by the benefits, so I never thought of it as a sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, 50 years later, the founders say the mission is more important than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope our 51st year is as tenacious and courageous as the first,\u201d Wickham said. \u201cWe can\u2019t just become a convention organization where people show up to party. If we don\u2019t stay serious about our mission, we\u2019ll wake up one day and realize our freedoms have been whittled away.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kimora Wong Sing, The Monitor When DeWayne Wickham was in second grade, the public library served as his after-school caretaker. While his parents worked, the library opened his imagination and laid the foundation for […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[374,239],"tags":[441],"class_list":{"0":"post-3853","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-interest","8":"category-race-culture","9":"tag-nabj25"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3853"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3857,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3853\/revisions\/3857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}