"REFLECTIONS" on the legacy
of black journalists in philadelphia
This was the first in a series of “Reflections” on the legacy of Black journalists in Philadelphia back to the founding of the Association of Black Journalists in 1974. We posted these reflections prior to our celebration on May 2-3, 2025, at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.
This first one salutes Black Women in TV – Then (1970s) & Now (2025). One of the Now’s is 6ABC Anchor Tamala Edwards, the guest speaker for our Friday-night program.
You can read about the history of Blacks in journalism in Philadelphia dating back to the Civil War.
Black Perspective on the News”
Reggie Bryant and Acel Moore began producing WHYY-TV’s “Black Perspective on the News” in 1973. It was a local news analysis program that gave Blacks an avenue to show off their skills as journalists. (It had been created and produced in 1968 by WHYY’s first Black professional Lionel J. Monagas.) “Black Perspective” became the station’s first weekly show to broadcast nationally on PBS.
The program took its first road trip in 1975 for an interview in Montgomery, AL, with George Wallace, the notorious segregationist governor who was confined to a wheelchair after being shot by a would-be assassin while campaigning for president in 1972.
Forming the Association of Black Journalists was not always a model of fellowship and cooperation. The meetings were full of big personalities who meant to be heard and didn’t back down. “I’m surprised it survived,” Claude Lewis said in an interview decades later. “It got better over the years.” ABJ survived because these journalists had a mutual goal that transcended their differences..
Sandra Dawson (now Long Weaver) was a young reporter at the Wilmington News Journal in July 1974. She drove up to Philadelphia to attend meetings of the Association of Black Journalists so she could network with other Black journalists. She is a founding member of NABJ.
The Association of Black Journalists held its second banquet in February 1977, and it was both thrilling and eventful. Vernon Jordan, president of the National Urban League, was the speaker, and Teddy Pendergrass was the entertainer. Teddy’s first solo album was set to be released in June. Behind the podium at the Marriott Hotel on City Avenue hung an ABJ logo banner made by Barbara Johnson, wife of member Tyree Johnson. The 1977 banquet drew about 900 people.
Karen Warrington was the first female news director at WDAS AM/FM, from 1977 to 1984. She focused on covering stories in communities that were ignored by the large news outlets. Karen and her staff took the station’s motto literally: “News that pertains to you!” She did not have a lot of reporters, but they were omnipresent in neighborhoods throughout the city. The Black community acted as their eyes and ears.
Linda Wright Moore came to Philadelphia in 1981 as a weekend anchor at WCAU-TV (then Channel 10), excited to have made it to a major television market. Her name then was Linda Wright Avery. (She came here from WXYZ in Detroit, the station where Trudy Haynes got her start as the “Weather Girl” in 1963.) Linda became acquainted with the Association of Black Journalists through Acel Moore, a founder of the organization.
Mister Mann Frisby is one year younger than the Association of Black Journalists and the same age as the National Association of Black Journalists. He is one of many shining examples of the endurance and perseverance of Black journalists.
NABJ PHILLY CELEBRATES
Founders & Early Members of
the Association of Black Journalists – 1974
Local Founders of
the National Association of Black Journalists – 1975
A CELEBRATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS IN PHILADELPHIA
mAY 2-3, 2025
NABJ Philly honors Chuck Stone, Acel Moore, Claude Lewis, Reggie Bryant and the dozens of other men and women who bravely founded the Association of Black Journalists (ABJ) in 1974 and helped form the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in 1975. We owe them loads of respect and admiration for the groundwork they laid in opening the door for Black journalists and providing better coverage of the community.
On May 2-3, 2025, NABJ Philly will honor their legacy by remembering what they accomplished and contemplating what the future holds for the media industry they fought to be a part of. The two-day FREE event is presented by the Philadelphia Foundation. It will be held at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, which is a Gold Sponsor. Visit Philadelphia is a Silver Sponsor.
NABJ Philly, founded in 2023 to continue the work of ABJ, is the one and only local chapter of NABJ in the region.
Friday night, May 2 will be a dressy, festive affair with big fun, great food, a timely speaker and wonderful memories from the people who were there. On Saturday morning, we will get serious with two consecutive panels discussing misinformation and non-traditional ways of providing local news coverage.
Friday, May 2
(Starts 6pm with food & mingling. Program starts 7pm, ends 10pm)
Speaker: Tamala Edwards, 6ABC Anchor.
“Fireside Chat” on the founding of ABJ and why it was necessary.
Moderator – Elmer Smith, who was a reporter for the Philadelphia Bulletin and later became a columnist at the Philadelphia Daily News.
Panelists:
– Francine Cheeks, former vice president of ABJ and one of the few women in the organization at the time.
– Tyree Johnson, former president of ABJ who became an investigative reporter and later founded the Westside Weekly community newspaper.
– Joe Davidson, former president of ABJ, co-founder of NABJ and currently, a columnist at the Washington Post.
– Don Camp, who was a staff photographer at the Philadelphia Bulletin and is now a fine arts photographer.
SPECIAL FEATURE: PHOTO EXHIBIT & AUCTION
Saturday, May 3 – Panel Discussions
(Continental breakfast, 9am)
Panel 1: “Truth, Lies & Accuracy: Challenges of Journalism in a World of Misinformation”
An imperative discussion of how misinformation and alternative facts have affected journalists’ jobs and the public’s access to news, as well as the role of AI in this cultural shift.
(Starts 9:30am)
Moderator – Solomon Jones – morning host for WURD Radio.
Panelists:
– Irv Randolph, managing editor of The Philadelphia Tribune.
– Vanessa Williams, former political writer for the Washington Post and a former president of NABJ and the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists.
– Michael Coard – attorney, host for WURD Radio and columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune.
– Danya Henninger, editorial director at Technical.ly, a local news outlet, who will discuss AI and its effect.
Panel 2: “Breaking the Mold: New Opportunities in Journalism”
A timely discussion on how news is gathered and disseminated through non-traditional digital means by journalists who are an integral part of the communities they cover.
(Starts 11am)
Moderator- Earl Hopkins, features reporter covering arts, entertainment and culture for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Panelists:
– Akoto Ofori-Atta, co-founder of Capital B News Service based in New York.
– Shawn Mooring, head of Philadelphia Programs for the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which funds community nonprofit local news organizations.
– Lara Witt, editor in chief of Prism, an independent and nonprofit news outlet led by journalists of color.
– Rasheed Ajamu, editor of the Germantown Info Hub, a project of Resolve Philly.
-Dr. Eric Nzeribe, publisher of FunTimes Magazine, an information source for the African Diaspora.
NABJ will celebrate its 50th anniversary at its August convention in Cleveland and in the city of its founding, Washington, DC, in December. Watch a Teaser Video here.
A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR sponsors
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ABJ Founders & Early Members
(as recalled by some members & from 1970s banquet programs)
- Tyree Johnson
- Elmer Smith
- Don Camp
- Francine Cheeks
- Karen Warrington
- Joe Davidson (NABJ founder)
Sandra Dawson (Long Weaver) (NABJ founder) - Sam Pressley
- *Miller Parker
- George Strait
- Lamont B. Steptoe
- Harold Yates
- Paul Bennett
- *Chuck Stone (NABJ founder)
- *Acel Moore (NABJ founder)
- *Claude Lewis (NABJ founder)
* Deceased
- Linn Washington Jr.
- Harry Gould
- Charles B. Fancher
- Dwight Ott
- Garland L. Thompson Esq.
- Ewart Rouse
- Roger Witherspoon
- Vernon Odom Jr.
- Cynthia Tucker
- Laura Murray
- Maida Odom
- Harold W. McCoo Jr.
- Dave Valentine
- Teresa Brown
- *Michael Boyer
- *Reggie Bryant (NABJ founder)
- *Mal Johnson (NABJ founder)
- * Earl E. Davis Jr.
- Donnie Roberts
- Pamela Haynes
- Clay Dillon
- *Clarence Farmer Jr.
- James C. Johnson
- Artis Hall
- Carole Norris
- Jan Gorham
- Alphonso D. Brown Jr.
- Harry Amana
- Greg Morrison
- Eddie Stinson
- Kendall Harris
- Margo Downing
- Charles Barnes III
- Elaine Wells
- Michael Hobbs
- Vivian Aluko
- *J. Whyatt “Jerry” Mondesire
- *Edie Huggins
- *Trudy Haynes
- Annette Colston
- Lesley Crosson
- Duane Gray
- Charles Harmon
- Glendora Byrd
- Marilyn Darling (NABJ founder, joined ABJ later)
- Frank Scott
- Hank Brown
- Jon Miller
- Orville Steadman
- *Justine Rector
- Colmon Holmes
- Wayne Faircloth
- Thom Greer
- Gloria Easton
- Eugene McCurdy
- *Malcolm Poindexter Jr.
- Bill Peronneau
- *Bob Perkins
HELP US TO LOCATE THESE EARLY ABJ MEMBERS SO WE CAN INVITE THEM TO THIS REUNION.
- Dave Valentine
- Teresa Brown
- Pamela Haynes
- Clay Dillon
- James C. Johnson
- Artis Hall
- Carole Norris
- Jan Gorham
- Alphonso D. Brown Jr.
- Eddie Stinson
- Kendall Harris
- Margo Downing
- Charles Barnes III
- Elaine Wells
- Michael Hobbs
- Vivian Aluko
- Annette Colston
- Lesley Crosson
- Duane Gray
- Charles Harmon
- Harold W. McCoo Jr.
- Glendora Byrd
- Marilyn Darling
- Frank Scott
- Hank Brown
- Jon Miller
- Orville Steadman
- Colmon Holmes
- Wayne Faircloth
- Thom Greer
- Gloria Easton
- Eugene McCurdy
lookING back TO SEE AHEAD
The origin of the Association of Black Journalists dates to 1973 when Black journalists began meeting informally and commiserating about the conditions at the white newspapers, TV and radio stations where they worked. Soon, they began meeting for a purpose. In 1974, the journalists formally organized.
On Thursday, Oct. 31, 1974, they distributed press releases announcing the formation of the Association of Black Journalists (ABJ). “We considered it bold back then,” said founder Claude Lewis in a 2003 interview. “An association of BLACK journalists? Wow.”
Members of the board were President, Chuck Stone; Vice President, Pamela Haynes; Secretary, Sam Pressley; Treasurer, George Strait; Assistant Treasurer, James Johnson and Board chair, Claude Lewis. Others on the board were Francine Cheeks, Joe Donovan, Artis Hall and Carole Norris. Acel Moore was chair of the Equal Opportunity Committee that met with Temple University officials about employment issues.
ABJ was pivotal in the founding of the National Association of Black Journalists in 1975. Seven of its members were founders, the national used ABJ’s bylaws as the basis for its own, and Stone was elected president. He served a dual presidency of both organizations.
30th anniversary celebration - 2003
TO THosE WHO CAME BACK
BE AMONG THOSE WHO RETURN IN 2025!
READ ABOUT THE 2023 CELEBRATION
nabj philly
the only nabj chapter in the philadelphia region
Founded 2023
NABJ Philadelphia was born out of a need to ensure that Black journalists in Philadelphia maintained the journalistic integrity that had defined its predecessors. On Aug. 24, 2023, a core group of eight Black journalists agreed to form a new local chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
We organized after the leadership of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists conflicted with the national organization and became un-affiliated with it. Our founders consisted of long-time officers and members of the local chapter who felt a strong kinship to NABJ and wanted to continue the connection.
On Oct. 27, 2023, the NABJ Board approved NABJ Philadelphia as its only affiliate in the region (#theoneandonly). In our first year, we received the NABJ President’s Award in a surprise presentation at the national convention in Chicago in August 2024. It was substantive endorsement of our organization.
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