From a press release
More than 300 newsmakers, journalists, entertainers and sports figures will headline the 2017 NABJ Convention and Career Fair at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans. this week, from Aug. 9-13, including notable figures like NBA-great Charles Barkley, Olympians Simone Manuel and Cullen Jones, the casts of OWN’s Queen Sugar and Greenleaf, Al Roker, CEO of Roker Entertainment, Shemar Moore, new TV series S.W.A.T., President of the National Urban League Marc Morial, President and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, Dr. Michael Lomax, and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as well as the families of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling and Black Lives Matter activist, Brittany Packnett.
The largest convention of journalists of color will also feature the NABJ Newsmaker Plenary and W.E.B DuBois Lecture that will spark meaningful conversations on covering the President Donald Trump administration and the outcomes for black men respectively. NABJ will assemble the journalists who cover the White House and then the families of Alton Sterling and Philandro Castille for two special discussions.
Finally, NABJ will award CNN Contributor and White House Correspondent, April Ryan the NABJ Journalist of the Year award on Saturday evening Aug. 12 at the Hilton Riverside hotel.
Other convention highlights include:
Wednesday, August 9
· 12 – 1:30 pm: Town Hall Lunch: The State of Education in America for the Black Community featuring NBC Correspondent Rehema Ellis, President and CEO of the United Negro College Fund Dr. Michael Lomax and Executive Director of the Urban League of Louisiana Ericka McConduit
Thursday, August 10
· 9:00 – 10:30 am: NABJ Newsmaker Plenary featuring April Ryan, Marc Morial and more
· 10:45 am – 12:15 pm: Building Your Own Media Empire featuring Al Roker
· 2:15 – 3:45 pm: A Conversation on The Intersection of Sports, Social Justice and Activism featuring Charles Barkley
Friday, August 11
· 10:00 – 11:30: Our Resistance, Our Liberation: What’s Next for Black women? Featuring Michaela Davis, Brittany Packnett and more
· 2:00 – 3:30 pm: W.E.B. Du Bois Plenary: Black And Blue Raising Our Sons, Protecting Our Communities featuring Valerie Castile and Sandra Sterling
· 4:00 – 5:30 pm: Hidden Figures: The Challenges of Covering the Black Athlete in Olympic Sports featuring Cullen Jones and Simone Manuel
· 6:00 – 7:00 pm: NABJ Arts & Entertainment Red Carpet featuring the stars and makers of:
o “When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story” – appearances from Lance Gross, Lil Mama, Tami Roman, Tasha Smith and more
o “Black Lightning” – appearances from Cress Williams, Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil and more
o “90 Days” – appearances from Patrick Riley, Nathan Hale Williams and more
Saturday, August 12
· 4:15 – 6:15 pm: Up Front Screening “S.W.A.T.” featuring Shemar Moore and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas
· 7:00pm: Salute to Excellence Gala featuring Journalist of the Year April Ryan, Chuck Stone Lifetime Achievement Award winner Yvette Miley, Michael J. Feeney Co-Emerging Journalists of the Year Candace Smith and Ernest Owens, and Hall of Fame inductees Rev. Aisha Karimah, Michael Days, John Jenkins and Garth Reeves, Sr.
For more information, visit www.nabj.org.
