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T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 • N A B J M O N I T O R . C O M / 2 0 2 3
BY CHRISTINA NORRIS
When the Birmingham Association of Black Journalists President Carla Wade relocated to Birmingham from Las Vegas in 2020, she didn’t realize that NABJ had chosen Birmingham as the convention site for 2023. Steve Crocker, the former president of BABJ, was a part of the team that lobbied for years to bring the convention to the city, along with the current Treasurer, Roy S. Johnson. Crocker says the board’s decision to select Birmingham - a deviation from larger cities usually selected - for the convention was “God’s timing” along with affordability, the city’s progress, and, most importantly, its Civil Rights history. “We can’t forget our ties to history,” said Crocker. “There are so many people who are still walking around who were integral parts of major moments of the Civil Rights movements of the ’60s.” Wade, a transplant from Nevada, said a lot of African Americans in the West and Northeast have roots in the South. “So they felt like this was a kind of a way of bringing those people back to kind of where a lot of their origins are from,” she said. Although she is newer to the BABJ chapter, Wade was and still is excited to work with the NABJ convention committee and help convention attendees return to their roots. She says the NABJ board is BABJ’s “biggest cheerleader” in the planning process. “Anytime we’ve had a question, anytime we’ve needed support, they have been like, beyond helpful,” Wade said. “I don’t think even as a host chapter if you really want to put your best foot forward, you can’t possibly do it without the support of the board of directors.” Convention co-chairs Tia Mitchell and Glenn Rice are empowering the NABJ Task Forces not only to meet their members’ programming needs but also to reflect on Birmingham’s history. Jump to page 4
PHOTO BY EDI H. DOH, NABJ MONITOR
Dalia Colon, executive producer and host of the “Zest” podcast, smiles in a conversation during the career fair in Birmingham Alabama.
COMING HOME TO BIRMINGHAM NABJ conference puts Black journalists in touch with Southern roots