The National Association of Black Journalists is leaving UNITY, an association made up four minority journalist organizations.
At issue: money and power. The board of NABJ, which was one of the founding UNITY members, voted Sunday to pull out of the organization, leaving the Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association as its members.
The NABJ board claims they have been prevented from holding positions of power at next year’s UNITY convention. An NABJ member was appointed as chairman for the conference, but current UNITY president Joanna Hernandez, of the NAHJ, reportedly ignored the appointment. UNITY’s board also rejected two NABJ proposals that would restructure the way convention revenue is split.
NABJ will hold its own convention in 2012. (They’re also holding a conference and career fair in Philadelphia in August). UNITY, which holds events once every four years, has scheduled
their conference for August, 2012 in Las Vegas.
“As the largest organization of journalists of color, NABJ remains vigilantly committed to the common ideals for which UNITY was founded, and further, remains allied with each UNITY partner in its individual mission of achieving these goals,” says the NABJ is a press release.
UNITY chief Hernandez writes that she is “saddened by the decision.”
“I understand that this is a business decision, that the NABJ board members are doing what they think is best for their organization. And I wish them well.”