Trump’s stump failed to dim our light
By Bonnie Newman Davis
The appearance of Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump at this year’s NABJ convention in Chicago proved as controversial as many members in the nearly 50-year-old organization had anticipated.
Crowds lined up inside the Chicago Hilton on Michigan Avenue hours in advance of Trump’s arrival on Wednesday, July 31. When the former president did arrive, further delays ensued, reportedly because Trump did not want fact-checking of his remarks, a crucial element of journalism, to take place. Scheduled to begin at noon, the Trump session began after 1 p.m. Eastern Time.
of Black Journalists convention in Chicago.
NABJ President Ken Lemon recounted the scenario involving Trump on the convention’s first full day in the NABJ Monitor, a student-driven convention newspaper. In addition to Lemon’s remarks appearing in the Monitor, his comments also appeared in the Aug. 2 issue of Richard Prince’s Journal-isms, an online publication that tracks news and issues relevant to Black journalists. The article, “NABJ Stood Its Ground, says Leader Ken Lemon,” reads:
Donald Trump and his team refused to take the stage Wednesday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention if NABJ conducted live fact-checking, NABJ President Ken Lemon told the NABJ Monitor, the student convention newspaper, Damenica Ellis reported Friday for the Monitor.
“ ‘Behind the scenes, there was a fight on,’ Lemon said. ‘There was a fight on to not have us fact-check him in real-time. I went backstage, and we stood our ground. I went back and I talked to the women who were going to be on that stage, and I said, ‘I’m going to protect you.’“Lemon (pictured, by Joe Thompson/NABJ Monitor) said the audio issues were part of the delay, but it wasn’t the whole reason, as Trump claimed on stage. ‘[Trump’s team] said, “He won’t take the stage if you’re going to fact check.” I said, ‘Well, then he won’t take the stage.’ ”
“Lemon added that it is important to NABJ to hold people accountable.
“ I said no to this team over and over and over again about the conditions for which he would take that stage, and we control a narrative because the people listening to what he says in that moment, they’re counting on us to set this thing up so that we present the truth’,’ he said. ‘That matters.’ “
During an Aug. 3 business meeting for members Lemon also address Trump’s visits and members’ concerns.
Long story short, Trump indeed needed to be fact-checked, often for spouting lines that most Americans know are lies. Most appalling was the former president’s statement that his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, just recently began identifying herself as Black rather than Indian and that she failed the California Bar Exam.
Blatant lies.
Despite Trump’s untruths, a sense of normalcy returned to NABJ a day after his visit. And, while many in the organization remained angry, befuddled and/or rattled by Trump’s appearance, no one could deny the litany of newscasts and newspapers that featured lead stories focused on NABJ’s loud-mouth guest speaker.
Key takeaways from this year’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago:
—Our largest convention ever with approximately 4,300 attendees.
—Thousands of young journalists who have been trained by the best and the brightest in our business and in America’s journalism programs. These young people are taking over the industry and I could not be prouder.
— Seeing so many former colleagues and longtime friends who have been in this business more than 40 or 50 years. They are still going strong. They are still committed to the cause. They are my tribe (to quote newly installed NABJ Hall of Famers Vanessa Williams and Paula Madison) and I love them.
— Witnessing rooms filled to capacity on Saturday morning and afternoon with journalists eager to master their crafts when investigating housing discrimination, health disparities, the decline of black males in newsrooms, getting our share of the sports spotlight, and how to become entrepreneurs while staying on top of new tools and technology.
——Getting a close-up view of how the book publishing world works. My book is self published, but it’s time to take it to another level.
—Spending time with my daughter, who not only is a great psychotherapist, but also an expert at selecting amazing restaurants and navigating rideshares (skills mastered when she was a student in the University of Chicago’s graduate social work program).
—Shout out to the Hilton Chicago for being so accommodating.
Until next time. Love you, Chicago. Thanks for everything. And thank you, NABJ!❤️🙏🏾
Photo opps
BND Institute of Media & Culture 