{"id":3569,"date":"2026-08-15T08:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/?p=3569"},"modified":"2026-08-15T08:59:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:59:54","slug":"nabj-2027-overlap-puts-afro-latino-journalists-at-a-crossroads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/nabj-2027-overlap-puts-afro-latino-journalists-at-a-crossroads\/","title":{"rendered":"NABJ 2027 overlap puts Afro-Latino journalists at a crossroads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Christian Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morelys Urbano, a 24-year-old National Association of Hispanic Journalists Afro-Latino Task Force member, can\u2019t remember when she first became a member of the organization, but she does recall her decision to join NABJ was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are people that may attend NAHJ and feel out of place, or there are people that may attend NABJ and feel out of place, but I feel community with both,\u201d Urbano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the thousands of journalists who call NABJ home, the organization acts as a safe haven for community, advocacy and opportunity. But for Afro-Latino journalists, their NABJ membership is only part of their story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1984, Afro-Latino journalists have existed within both organizations and attended each of the organizations\u2019 events respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, after NABJ rescheduled the date of its 2027 convention from August 18-22 to August 4-8 in Houston, the same week as the NAHJ plans to host its convention in Minneapolis, the decision to attend both conventions became culturally weighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been part of attending events and being part of the community for as long as I can remember them, just the same way that I have been a Black and Latina woman all of my life,\u201d Urbano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the years, NABJ and NAHJ have collaborated, bringing Black and Hispanic journalists together for fellowship and education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For over 20 years, NABJ along with NAHJ, the Asian American Journalists Association, Native American Journalists Association and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association unified under the umbrella coalition, UNITY, Journalists of Diversity, until it ceased operations<\/a> in 2018. Four joint conventions were held under UNITY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NABJ withdrew from UNITY in 2011 followed by NAHJ in 2013 for financial and governance differences. NABJ and NAHJ held two joint conventions since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, NAHJ withdrew from a joint convention with NABJ in Chicago to celebrate its 40th anniversary<\/a> in the organization\u2019s Hollywood hometown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, NABJ rescheduled its 2027 convention citing the initial dates, \u201cfell significantly outside NABJ\u2019s traditional early-August convention window,\u201d NABJ President Errin Haines said in an email to the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haines expressed concerns that the convention’s original dates could\u2019ve caused problems for the organization\u2019s membership who go back to school and attend workshops late August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAHJ leadership argued the change complicates its plans for next year\u2019s convention and risks financial losses, split sponsors and reduced registration for both organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that it\u2019s going to affect membership greatly if the dates are not changed,\u201d NAHJ Region 3 Director Karina Cuevas said. \u201cExhibitors, recruiters [and] members might not be able to make it because a lot of our members are also part of NABJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is some cross interaction there,\u201d Cuevas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuevas also noted that changing the dates of the convention could result in hotel fines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we opt to change the dates, it can be up to anywhere [from] thousands, up to $100,000,\u201d Cuevas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NABJ leadership stands firm<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite NAHJ\u2019s concerns, Haines confirmed the organization will continue to host next year\u2019s convention during the first week of August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c2027 is set,\u201d Haines said. \u201cWe look forward to our members joining us next summer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haines acknowledged the concerns, and hoped minority journalism organizations and sponsorship partners will continue to support both organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe certainly hope our partners that have been with us, that have been with both organizations over the years, continue to support our organizations next year,\u201d Haines said. \u201cI understand that our conventions are going to be during the same week, but just as these organizations commit to supporting us year after year, we would hope that they would be standing with us and continuing their commitment to diversity and representation with both of our organizations next summer in Houston and Minneapolis respectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state of the industry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuevas also worries this conflict will send a negative message to an industry already embattled by DEI cuts and layoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to put a strain on an already burdened industry,\u201d Cuevas said. \u201cPeople are losing jobs, they’re not going to be able to go to the conferences, and, at the same time, it sends the message that we\u2019re not a united front. That should not be happening, especially at this time in this moment in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cuevas warned the conflicting conventions could also affect more than the organizations\u2019 leadership, but trickle down to its members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConflicts like this do affect everyone,\u201d Cuevas said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For members like Urbano, who already pay annual dues and convention fees for both organizations, NABJ\u2019s decision emphasizes a societal issue: erasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy call to leadership would be to have in mind their members and the complex identity of their members,\u201d Urbano said. \u201cI think our voices and our concerns should be as important as other members. That is not something that [anybody] should do, because it’s a hard decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t even made the decision for myself yet,\u201d Urbano added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t have to choose between one or the other, because we are equally a part of both.\u201d […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nab-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3570,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3569\/revisions\/3570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabjmonitor.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}