Firestorm Over Decision to Invite Trump
“I had the chance to speak with a group of young journalists” from the NABJ student projects,” NABJ President Ken Lemon wrote on X, “about our non-partisan, presumptive presidential nominee invitations. . . . This is a great opportunity for us to vet the candidate right here on our ground, and that’s what we do.” (Credit: X)
Firestorm Over Decision to Invite Trump
Responding to a firestorm over its invitation to Donald Trump to participate Wednesday in the National Association of Black Journalists’ Chicago convention, NABJ President Ken Lemon now says, “We are in talks about virtual options in the future” with Vice President Kamala Harris “and are still working to reach an agreement.”
The statement was amended later to give a time frame: ” either in person or virtually, at some point in September 2024.”
The announcement that Trump had become the first Republican presidential nominee since George W. Bush to accept NABJ’s invitation to speak prompted an outcry that by one count included more than 800 responses on Instagram. as well as a statement by Washington Post journalist Karen Attiah that she was resigning as one of the three convention co-chairs.
“NABJ has been in talks with both the Democratic and Republican parties since January,” Lemon said in his early Wednesday message. “NABJ was in contact with Vice President Kamala Harris’ team for an in-person panel before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July.
.@NABJ President @kenlemonnabj’s response to Presidential candidate @realDonaldTrump accepting NABJ’s invitation: pic.twitter.com/MinCqC7KyW
— NABJ Monitor (@NABJMonitor) July 30, 2024
“However, we were advised by her campaign that her schedule could not accommodate this request. The last update we were provided was that Harris would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention. We are in talks about virtual options in the future and are still working to reach an agreement.
“I consulted with a group of our Founders and past NABJ Presidents Tuesday on-site in Chicago, and as a group, we affirmed that the invitation to former President Trump was in line with NABJ’s usual practices since 1976. It has always been our policy to ensure that candidates know that an invitation is not an endorsement. We also agreed that while this race is much different — and contentious — so are the consequences.
“While we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our members, we believe it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable. We also want to provide our members with the facts. We have partnered with PolitiFact for live fact-checking using the hashtag #NABJFactCheck and via our initial announcement link here: bit.ly/NABJ24ConversationWithTrump. “
The reasons for the antipathy to Trump have been varied, but in general they have revolved around policies and comments perceived to be racist, his carelessness with the truth and his attacks on the press, particularly Black women — and Black female journalists.
April Ryan, White House correspondent for The Grio whom Trump had repeatedly attacked while in office, wrote on X, “The reports of attacks on Black women White House correspondents by the then president of the United States are not myth or conjecture, but fact.
Harris Faulkner: "What I see for the left is there is so much hate. There is hate towards the 75 million people and they are all lumped together called MAGA. There's hate towards the former president… doesn’t hate have to give way to love? You have to have some positivity." pic.twitter.com/HVKSIbgWOg
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 17, 2024
“To have a presumed orchestrated session with the former president is an affront to what this organization stands for and a slap in the face to the Black women journalists (NABJ journalists of the year) who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee,” Ryan said.
DeWayne Wickham, an NABJ founder and past president, wrote on LinkedIn, “The National Association of Black Journalists will give Donald Trump a platform tomorrow (Wednesday) to spew his lies.” Wickham called it a “questionable decision” and suggested five questions that Trump should be asked.
One prominent Chicago leader made his opinion known as well. “Speaking at a Chicago Police Department graduation ceremony Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson also criticized Trump’s visit and his previous behavior toward Black journalists,” Tina Sfondeles reported for the Chicago Sun-Times. “The mayor said the city, however, will be prepared for his visit.
“ ‘The Black press has played an integral role in the transformation of our city here in Chicago, but as well as our country and our world,’ Johnson said. ‘We’re going to be prepared as a city if he decides to actually arrive in Chicago to make sure that the nastiness and the … formation that he brings doesn’t stain the soul of Chicago.’ ”
The chair of the NABJ’s LGBTQ+ task force, Femi Redwood, said on X she was “disturbed” to not be included in discussions about whether to invite Trump, citing “damage he has caused Black queer and trans people.”
Attiah wrote Tuesday on X, “I have decided to step down as co-chair from this year’s #NABJ24 convention in Chicago. To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck. For everyone else, I’m looking forward to meeting and reconnecting with all of you in the Windy City. #nabj”
Attiah added, “While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format.”
Trump is to be interviewed on Wednesday at noon CST by a panel of Black journalists, including ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, Fox News host Harris Faulkner and Semafor reporter Kadia Goba. Faulkner’s selection has been questioned because she and Fox are considered by many to be pro-MAGA and pro-Trump.
According to Sara Fischer, Russell Contreras and Delano Massey, writing for Axios, “Lemon told Axios the organization put out the call months ago to ‘both candidates and one candidate responded.’
” ‘There was a point when we were certain Biden and Trump were both going to say yes,’ he said, noting that Biden dropped out. The organization has been in contact with the Harris camp over the past nine days, but they did not have a commitment as of Tuesday.”
“Harris was offered an in-person interview (no virtual options) when she became the presumptive nominee, but the campaign and NABJ came to an impasse over scheduling. . . .
“Lemon said the outcome dramatically differs from former President Trump’s initial request — a rally and then some questions. NABJ held firm because they wanted to have a panel.
“He gave us names. We came with names. We said no multiple times to get to this place.”
Journalists Roland Martin and Ryan each reported that the Harris campaign “offered for her to take questions virtually, but was turned down by NABJ,” as Martin wrote on social media.
Martin continued, “That makes NO sense. We do interviews DAILY by satellite, Skype and Zoom, so this should have happened.
“Keep in mind that @KamalaHarris is in ATL today for a campaign rally with @theestallion; speaks to @SGRho in Houston on Wednesday; attends Thursday’s funeral of @sheilajacksonlee; and goes dark on this weekend to make her VP selection. I’m also told that @VP @KamalaHarris offered to speak to @NABJ at a later date but was denied.
“Also keep in mind that Donald Trump REFUSED to speak to NABJ in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. I’ll break it all down at 6 pm EST on #RolandMartinUnfiltered on @blackstarnetwork. Watch at Youtube.com/RolandSMartin and the BSN app.”
NABJ did not respond to a question as to whether the account from Martin, a former NABJ board member, is correct.
Ryan reported Wednesday, “Multiple sources told theGrio that NABJ leadership feverishly asked the vice president’s team to consider a virtual town hall following the report that NABJ initially declined their suggestion for a virtual panel. TheGrio was told that Harris’s team had moved on after being told ‘no’ by NABJ leadership. NABJ leadership also requested a VP surrogate in her absence.”
- Journal-isms: Were Media Fair to Kamala Harris? (Dec. 14, 2019)
(Credit: Chronicle of Higher Education)
Finance Chair: DEI Should Be NABJ’s Big Concern
The attack on diversity, equity and inclusion is “My biggest concern, which is also NABJ’s biggest concern,” according to Rodney Brooks (pictured), who chairs the Finance Committee of the National Association of Black Journalists. “And how far we go back will also depend on the election.”
Brooks, a retirement columnist, author and former NABJ treasurer, reported to the NABJ board of directors Tuesday that there will be further setbacks if Donald Trump is elected in November. “They’ve been scared off,” Brooks said of corporations watching as the anti-DEI movement spreads, particularly in red states.
Corporate donations are a source of revenue for nonprofit journalism organizations such as NABJ, Brooks told Journal-isms. “The future is scary because the funders are being threatened,” he said. “Major funders are threatened.” Brooks named two companies that ended their diversity programs because of the current climate, although they are not funders of NABJ.
The Chronicle of Higher Education is tracking changes that public colleges have made to offices, jobs, training, diversity statements and other DEI-related activities as the result of bills, executive orders, system mandates,and other state-level actions since January 2023. “The Chronicle has tracked changes at 185 college campuses in 25 states,” the publication said in an update Friday.
In May, CBS filed a motion to throw out a lawsuit by a white male employee challenging its diversity hiring practices for writers on the show “SEAL Team,” arguing that it has a First Amendment right to hire who it wants.
Steven Bradley, a white male journalist from Rochester, N.Y., is making a similar claim against the Gannett Co. in a proposed class-action case proceeding in the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of Virginia.
The journalists of color associations were founded with diversity as their mission, yet they have not aggressively challenged the anti-DEI movement.
NABJ President Ken Lemon, for instance, told the NABJ board of directors Feb. 3 that he was creating a “diversity audit,” in which NABJ members could report, even anonymously, “anything that limits Black folks.” He said NPR television critic Eric Deggans and Madison Carter, NABJ secretary and an anchor and investigative journalist at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C., would do the monitoring. Carter has since left the board, and there were no questions for Brooks after he sounded the alarm at the board meeting.
Nor was the subject broached at the July convention board meeting of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Brooks told the NABJ board, “On the corporate side most companies claim that their commitment to DEI has
stayed the same and that they are not backtracking. I don’t believe them for a minute. Every week you see companies like Tractor Supply and John Deere essentially ending their diversity programs.
“We know there have major cutbacks on the state level — especially in states like Florida and Texas. And we know Trump and [GOP vice presidential candidate J.D.] Vance, and their supporters like Elon Musk, will do anything they can to reduce the impact of DEI on the national level.
“So, there is a lot at stake for this upcoming election.
“During his presidency, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting DEI training by the federal government and contractors.[President] Biden rescinded it, but it did have a chilling effect, which led a number of red-state legislators to introduce dozens of bills restricting DEI in state government, state colleges and even contractors.
“So, again, Trump and Vance have made their feelings known. There is a lot riding on the election. We should know where the nation is headed going into the 2025 budget year. So, again, we’ll have to take all of this into consideration when we put together that budget.”
