NEW ORLEANS — Omarosa Manigault was a last minute fill in for Friday’s afternoon plenary session at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention. As President Donald Trump’s key adviser on Black people, Manigault was visibly upset by the drilling she got from the packed room of Black journalists. Eventually, the the White House left the session, escorted out by security detail.
The day began with a breakfast discussion about mass incarceration. “This is a crucial issue in this country,” declared TV One’s Roland Martin. He moderated a panel consisting of three people who served time behind bars, and a local advocate for change in the criminal justice system.
“We are people first. We are people who had conflicts with the criminal justice system,” explained Bill Cobb, the ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice deputy director.
Currently unemployed NFL QB Colin Kaepernick was the main topic of a session on Black sports journalists. The underlying theme of the session focused on the idea that sports writers can no longer just cover sports.
Veteran NBA writer Marc Spears told the MSR that the Black signal caller “has been the biggest topic,” throughout the convention.
The day ended on a high note, with time spent with greatness at the 2017 Sam Lacy Pioneer Awards.
Saturday is NABJ ’17 last full day of sessions.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.
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Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.