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Co-chair of Black journalists convention steps down after Trump appearance announced | TribLIVE.com
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Co-chair of Black journalists convention steps down after Trump appearance announced

Megan Swift
Megan Swift
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AP
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn.

The co-chair of the National Association of Black Journalists 2024 convention in Chicago has stepped down, following former President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would attend the convention.

Karen Attiah’s announcement came via the social media platform X — after Trump’s announcement that he would attend the convention and participate in a Q&A session, Reuters reported.

“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,” Karen Attiah wrote in the thread.

The session is closed to the public, according to NABJ, but it will be livestreamed on NABJ’s YouTube and Facebook pages, Reuters said.

According to a statement from the NABJ, the session will “concentrate on the most pressing issues facing the Black community,” and it will be moderated by ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, Fox News host Harris Faulkner, and Semafor politics reporter Kadia Goba.

“We look forward to our attendees hearing from former President Trump on the critical issues our members and their audiences care about most,” said NABJ President Ken Lemon. “While NABJ does not endorse political candidates as a journalism organization, we understand the serious work of our members, and welcome the opportunity for them to ask the tough questions that will provide the truthful answers Black Americans want and need to know.”

Fellow presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was also invited to participate in this year’s convention, the NABJ said — and her confirmation is pending.

In the past, former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have attended NABJ conventions either as presidents or presidential candidates, according to the NABJ.

The news of Trump’s attendance at NABJ has elicited numerous mixed reactions from members of the media and the public on social media.

Jemele Hill, a contributing writer at The Atlantic and former ESPN host, said she didn’t have a problem with the decision to host Trump under “the right circumstances.” She said she was unsure about this year’s conditions.

“A sham of an interview will destroy the organization’s credibility,” Hill wrote on X. “If the majority of NABJ’s membership is against Trump being there, the organization should listen. You have to answer to your membership and you run the risk of permanently disengaging folks. Trump isn’t worth that.”

Megan Swift is a TribLive reporter covering trending news in Western Pennsylvania. A Murrysville native, she joined the Trib full time in 2023 after serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian at Penn State. She previously worked as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the Trib for three summers. She can be reached at mswift@triblive.com.

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