October 6, 2025
Celebrating 50 Years of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
Whereas, on Dec. 12, 1975, at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., 44 Black journalists created a national organization dedicated to increasing their number in the nation's newsrooms, and improving the treatment of those already there and coverage of the Black community; and
Whereas, signing the attendance roster at the meeting was itself an act of courage for those who were told they had to choose between their employment at their news organizations and being active in the new association; and
Whereas, encouraging journalism schools to appoint Black professors and awarding scholarships to journalism programs that support people of color were also among NABJ’s original goals; and
Whereas, NABJ’s first convention was hosted by Texas Southern University, home of the first Black school of communications in the western United States, in Houston in 1976; and
Whereas, though journalism educators were initially disqualified from NABJ membership, since 2015 its academic members have elected their own representative to the Board of Directors; and
Whereas, in 2021, the NABJ Academic Task Force was formed giving these academic members a more active role in the organization, including sponsoring sessions for educators during the annual NABJ conventions; and
Whereas, NABJ has for many years had an active role in determining the accredited status of now 120-plus academic units in the United States and abroad, by maintaining its affiliation with the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC); and
Whereas, in recent years, AEJMC has fostered communication with NABJ to lessen the frequency of the two organizations’ annual meetings taking place on the same dates.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the AEJMC membership extends hearty congratulations to the National Association of Black Journalists on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and
Be it further resolved that NABJ be encouraged to become an affiliate member of AEJMC, thus giving it a seat on the AEJMC Council of Affiliates through which NABJ can be intentionally a part of the programming process for future AEJMC conferences; and
Be it further resolved that AEJMC urges NABJ to maintain its involvement with the Accrediting Council by appointing future NABJ representatives who are full-time journalists, bringing their all-important current professional insight to the review of journalism and mass communication units seeking accreditation and re-accreditation; and
Be it further resolved that through its Commission on the Status of Minorities and the Minorities and Communication (MAC) Division, AEJMC continues to strengthen its relationship with NABJ; and
Finally, be it resolved that copies of this resolution be sent to both the NABJ Board of Directors and the NABJ Academic Task Force.
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding.
AEJMC 2025 Resolutions