By Yacine BA
In a room slowly filling up with journalists, students and media professionals, book talk was the subject.
In 1994, the authors showcase & bookstore debuted at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention to allow Black journalists to look for opportunities beyond the newsroom.
Chair and producer of the showcase Bonnie Newman Davis said the showcase provides a valuable service.
“Making those connections and knowing that there are people out there with similar interests and it’s almost like [a] built in support system,” Davis said.
She described organizing the showcase is like “a puzzle,” because she has to ” figure out which session or which author should serve on any particular day.”
More than a dozen authors joined this year’s showcase.
Rev. Dr. Marshaun Davis wrote ‘Faith Deconstruction for Dummies.’
“The book is written from the perspective of someone who what I like to say is, I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus. I’m hesitant to call myself a Christian, even though I am a practicing preacher in the Christian church,” Davis said.
Dr. Christine McWhorter is a journalism professor at Howard University. McWhorter wrote ‘Building Critical Race Media Literacy.’
“It’s a book that is a response to the hostile media that we have to navigate every day,” she said.
“The media is full of racial harm, and in order to understand what’s happening, and more importantly, in order to challenge some of these negative narratives that are in the media, people need skills. They need to be equipped the same way,” she added.
For Davis, it’s become a labor of love.
“It’s really good connecting with people who you may see on television, hear on radio, see on social media and read their articles in newspapers, those that are still left, of course. So that’s really gratifying for an organization that’s been around for 50 years.”
Village books is this year’s bookstore vendor raging from fiction to non fiction to history.
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