MGJR Volume 16 Summer 2026 Summer Issue | Page 31

On Monday, October 4, Butz resigned.

NABJ Convention: A New Beginning

The second NABJ convention, held in Baltimore in the summer of 1977, was the first in a hotel with meeting rooms, which gave the group a more professional setting. The big topics included discussions about increasing the number, elevating the positions of Black journalists and dealing with the stress confronting Blacks who worked in the nation’ s nearly all- White newsrooms.

Ironically, they continue to be big topics of discussion at our annual gatherings.

In addition to several other workshops and professional development sessions, the Baltimore convention offered attendees a local bonus: a crab feast on the promenade of the city’ s downtown harbor that included a demonstration on the proper way to eat Maryland steamed crabs.

That night of fun was followed by a day of controversy.

Chuck Stone deserves huge credit for his leadership as our first president and guiding light. He was our chief organizer and a mighty reporter, who in May 2025 would posthumously receive a Pulitzer Prize citation, in part for his role in founding NABJ. Stone, 89, died in 2014. But like some other leaders, Stone didn’ t want to leave when his time was up. He sought another term, despite NABJ’ s rules then preventing that.

During the heated debate, the Philadelphia contingent( including this writer) took the lead in blocking Stone’ s effort to change the rules so he could continue as president. It was a defining moment for an organization that did not want leadership based on a cult of personality.

Out of this fight, Vernon Jarrett, a legendary Chicago media personality, was elected NABJ’ s second president. Decades

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CONVENTION LIST

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