PABJ - WE WERE THE FIRST INCORPORATED
"ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS"
The Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia was the first incorporated “Association of Black Journalists,” predating the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
The ABJ was formally organized in 1974, one year before the founding of the NABJ and is its oldest chapter.
“The Association of Black Journalists (of Philadelphia) was the strongest branch or even vertebrae of the National Association of Black Journalists,” says Wayne Dawkins, author of the 1993 book “Black Journalists: The NABJ Story” and the foremost authority on its history.
In 2003, the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists celebrated its 30th anniversary based on the recollections of several early members about its founding. A subsequent search of public records and newspaper articles corrected that misinformation.
Black journalists in several groups were meeting separately in Philadelphia during 1973 to discuss their own predicament at white newspapers and broadcast outlets, and the dearth of true and honest coverage of the Black community in the media.
The members chose the name Association of Black Journalists because they knew of no other group with that name.* At this point, we have no sign-in sheet from the founding meeting.
The name was changed to the Association of Black Journalists of Philadelphia in incorporation papers filed three days after the NABJ was formed on Dec. 12, 1975, to distinguish between the two.
Members of the Philadelphia ABJ and a Washington, DC-based journalists group founded in 1975 set up the meeting that led to NABJ’s creation.
Several members of the ABJ of Philadelphia were founders of the NABJ.
The PABJ has touted itself as the founding chapter of NABJ. The organization has no founding chapters – just founding members – because before 1975, there was no national organization to be a chapter of. PABJ’s constitution and bylaws were used to help frame NABJ’s, said Paul Brock, who assisted in creating NABJ’s, in a 2017 interview.
Chuck Stone, first president of both NABJ and ABJ, described ABJ as the “immediate forerunner” of NABJ and the ABJ’s constitution and bylaws as its model. A side-by-side comparison of undated bylaws of both organizations show marked similarities.
For now, PABJ has the distinction of being the country’s first and oldest “Association of Black Journalists” – of which it should be proud.
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* Other journalists groups, some of which included media-related professionals, were formed before PABJ: Philadelphia Reporters’ Association (1932). Black Perspective in New York, Washington and Los Angeles, and United Black Journalists in Chicago (1960s). Read more about them in PABJ’s history.
HOW THIS HISTORY WAS RESEARCHED
This website covers the early years of ABJ, its origin and founding, in the 1970s. It is not a full history. The contents are based on nearly two decades of intermittent interviews with founders and early members, newspaper articles, state of Pennsylvania records, members’ papers and documents, and more, conducted primarily and independently by Sherry L. Howard. If you have additional info, recollections, documents and photos, or would like to make corrections, please contact Sherry via the CONTACT page. I’d like to be as accurate as possible, based on reliable documentation.
The origin of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists dates to 1973 when Black journalists began gathering and commiserating about the conditions at the white newspapers, TV and radio stations where they worked.
There were too few of them. They were not given the best assignments and not equally promoted. They were not allowed enough face time on the air. They were not treated fairly. The atmosphere in the newsrooms was toxic.
“We started talking about our common concerns – the low number of Blacks in the media from print to broadcast,” said Sam Pressley, a reporter at the Evening Bulletin at the time. “We also were concerned about the way Blacks and the Black community in general were covered, often in a negative way.”
 Chuck Stone 1974-1976 |
 Acel Moore1977-1978 |
 Tyree Johnson 1979-1980 |
 Mumia Abu-Jamal1981 |
 Joe Davidson 1982-1983 |
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 Michael Days 1987-1988 |
 Heshimu Jaramogi 1989-1990 |
Chuck Stone
First president of the ABJ and the National Association of Black Journalists.
Acel Moore
Second president of ABJ.
Claude Lewis
First chairman of ABJ Executive Board.
Reginald Bryant
Founding member ABJ.
Francine Cheeks
Member Executive Board.
Tyree Johnson
Third president of ABJ.
Sam Pressley
First secretary of ABJ.
Greg Morrison
Co-wrote bylaws.
VIDEO: A VISION FOR ACTION
Interview with Francine Cheeks, Greg Morrison and Acel Moore, 2013
Conducted by Manuel McDonnell-Smith, former PABJ president
FOUNDING OF THE ORGANIZATION
In 1971, an organization of black media professionals formed the Black Communicators Associated Inc. in response to a new Federal Communications Commission provision that TV stations “ascertain” a community’s needs by actually talking to people in the community while forbidding the stations from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion and national origin.
“We were looking at challenging stations for not employing minorities. It was a small group of people and we said we need to step up,” said Miller Parker, the organization’s president in 1971. “Black Communicators was all of the Blacks in broadcast at the time. It was newspapers, too; it was open.”
In its incorporation filing, the group registered its name as Black Communicators Associated Inc. but was commonly known as the Black Communicators.
The signers were Andrew B. Reynolds Jr., Reginald Bryant, Charles D. Barnes III, Alonzo M. Saunders Jr. and Parker. Acel Moore was among the early members, said Parker, who was president of the Cap Cities/WPVI-TV Minority Advisory Board.
Parker was named a producer at WCAU-TV in 1972, an appointment that was noted in Jet magazine.
NOTE: This article was written for the PABJ website in 2003. The organization celebrated what was thought to be its 30th anniversary before research documents showed the founding year to be 1974.
By Al Hunter Jr.
Former President, PABJ
Inside a newspaper building that once shunned black reporters, 130 people celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists.
The reception and a panel discussion featuring PABJ founders and early chapter members were held Nov. 19, 2003, in the Public Room at the Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News building in Philadelphia. Filled with black veteran journalists and young aspiring writers and broadcasters, the room was charged with nostalgia, hope and talk of unfinished work.
