Fledgling African journalists association is determined to change mainstream media coverage of Africa and Africans
By B. Denise Hawkins
WASHINGTON
The only way that Eyobong Ita knows how to dream is big, even when the numbers are down and the stakes are high. The two-day
convention of the National Association of African Journalists (NAAJ), the professional and networking organization Ita founded a year ago, attracted only a handful of African journalism students and practitioners to the Howard University student center last month. But when it was all over, those who attended got what they came for — an opportunity to interact with fellow African journalists and communicators. Most of the participants have made the often rocky transition from African to American newsrooms and businesses. But beyond networking, the participants were treated to a journalism 101 taught by industry experts and had the chance to vie for leadership positions in NAAJ. The fledgling organization is small, but it has big plans — to inspire growth and professional development among African journalists and to change the way Africans and Africa are covered in the mainstream media.
A year ago, Ita, a Nigerian-born reporter for the Kansas City Star, had an idea for an organization that could help give fellow Africans much-needed guidance and “a second chance on pursuing journalism here.”
Approximately 60 African journalists working in the United States heeded his call. That core group used the UNITY journalism convention meeting in Washington, D.C., to inaugurate an organization of their own, NAAJ. But for the newly formed organization to really stand on its own, it had to have a venue that it could call home.
That venue wasn’t long in coming. At its awards gala Sept. 10, NAAJ announced that Howard University had offered the organization rent-free office space in the John H. Johnson School of Communications. The office, located on the lower level of the School of Communications, has space for a conference room and a main office and will be used as the organization’s secretariat.
“The gesture was approved recently by Dr. Jannette L. Dates, dean of the School of Communications, and has the backing of Phillip Dixon, chairman of the journalism department,” says Ita, who was trained as a journalist in Nigeria, but often found doors closed in the United States when he tried to become a reporter. “Our credentials are never seen as good enough and our accents are seen as problems,” laments Ita of the challenges that he says many African journalists in the United States continue to face. He should know. Ita worked a series of jobs outside of journalism, including one at a nursing home, before enrolling at Howard’s School of Communications. It was at Howard that Ita learned to successfully navigate the job field, winning top honors as a Chips Quinn Scholar and eventually landing in a newsroom.
