NABJ members divided over decision to allow Trump to speak at conference

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced late Monday evening that former President Trump will speak at the organization’s annual conference this week in Chicago, sparking a furious debate among Black reporters. 

Though some said the event will offer Black journalists the opportunity to grill Trump on how he plans to address the most pressing issues facing Black Americans, others have expressed concerns over the former president’s rhetoric both toward and around Black Americans. 

Ken Lemon, NABJ’s president, said the organization understands “the serious work of our members” and that this will be “the opportunity for them to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know.” 

It was a sentiment echoed by several other members of the organization, including Jemele Hill, a contributing writer for The Atlantic. 

Hill said journalists can “never be afraid to tackle someone like Trump.” 

“The reality is that he is running for president and needs to be treated as such,” Hill posted on social platform X. “Being questioned by journalists is part of the job, and especially important in the company of Black journalists. Mainstream media keeps trying to convince us that he actually is gaining support among Black people. Let’s see if it’s true.”

NABJ invitations to candidates are not new. In 2004, both George W. Bush and John Kerry spoke at the convention. In 2007, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton addressed the convention. 

Vice President Harris was also invited to speak this year; her response is pending, according to the organization.

Trump, who is hoping to win 20 percent of Black voter support this election, has already made several campaign stops in predominantly Black communities this cycle. He is now leaning into Wednesday’s event.

In a press release announcing the event, Trump’s campaign said he has “accomplished more for Black Americans than any other president in recent history by implementing America First policies on the economy, immigration, energy, law and order, and foreign policy.”

Separately, in a statement to The Hill, Janiyah Thomas, Black media director for Team Trump, said Trump’s visit showed he wanted to come to the group to earn their support. 

“While Kamala Harris has ignored the invitation from the National Association of Black Journalists, President Trump is grateful for the opportunity to bring his message to their diverse audience,” she wrote. “Team Trump believes it’s important to give Black journalists more access to presidential candidates so they can better inform Black voters. President Trump’s message is resonating with Black voters and all communities deserve to hear what he has to say. Tomorrow’s event once again proves that unlike Kamala Harris, President Trump is willing to meet people where they are to earn their trust and support.”

Tia Mitchell, Washington correspondent for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said she helped make the call to invite Trump.

“I’ll continue to work to create opportunities for journalists to interview the potential next president,” Mitchell added.

But Arionne Nettles, author of “We Are the Culture: Black Chicago’s Influence on Everything,” pointed out on X that not a single Black media organization is represented in the panel of moderators for the event. Instead, the conversation will be moderated by ABC’s Rachel Scott, FOX News’s Harris Faulkner and Semafor’s Kadia Goba. 

“Not even any Black orgs? On top of everything. So please don’t claim to give ‘opportunities’ to anyone but those who would already have them,” Nettles said.

Nettles is not the only critic of NABJ’s decision to offer Trump a platform. 

On Tuesday afternoon, Karen Attiah, a columnist for The Washington Post, announced she would be stepping down as co-chair of the convention. 

“I have decided to step down as co-chair from this year’s NABJ24 convention in Chicago,” Attiah posted on X. “To the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck.”

Attiah continued, “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.”

April Ryan, NABJ’s 2017 Journalist of the Year, offered a harsh rebuke of the organization’s decision, highlighting the treatment she received from Trump during his time in the White House. 

“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,” said Ryan, White House correspondent for theGrio. 

“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 who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation and her democracy with his Project 2025. I object to this NABJ session with Donald Trump in Chicago.”

Ryan has been open about the treatment she faced from Trump during press conferences, including when she was repeatedly told to “sit down” and when the former president called her “nasty” and a “loser.” 

Trump has also previously gone after CNN’s Abby Phillip, accusing her of asking “a lot of stupid questions.”

Others pointed out controversial statements Trump has made about the city of Chicago, a hub for Black journalism and the hometown of icons like Ida B. Wells.

“I would like to unwelcome @NABJ for surprising Chicago with this Trump news, a man who has threatened Chicago with state violence in his stump speeches–and attracts a white supremacist following to a Black affinity space,” Morgan Elise Johnson, co-founder of The Triibe, a Black-led and focused newsroom in Chicago, posted on X. 

The discussion has now bled into other areas, with nonjournalist organizations offering a harsh condemnation of NABJ.

“NABJ has betrayed legacy of Ida B Wells,” Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, posted on X.

This story was updated at 2:11 p.m.