SYRACUSE, N.Y (NCC NEWS) – Attendees at The National Association of Black Journalists Convention have expressed mixed views over Donald Trump’s address. NABJ announced on Monday that Trump was attending the convention Wednesday afternoon.
The NABJ is a professional organization that supports the advancement of Black journalists. Its sole mission is to advocate for diversity and representation in media, provide professional opportunities and encourage attendees to network and use their resources as opportunities to further push the Black community. They also work to vocalize issues within diversity, equity and inclusion through journalism.
Attendee Mikey Lamarre, said Trump being at the convention should push journalists to get the answers they need.
“I don’t see why there’s such a big outburst because as a convention for journalists it’s literally just journalists doing their job,” Lamarre said.
NABJ is a convention where many Black journalists go to not only become better journalists and gain professional experience, but to converse and meet more people within the community.
Another attendee Kobe Scales says Trump’s presence was unnecessary. He believed it could be distracting and might overshadow the main focus of NABJ.
“I think there’s a time and a place for everything and a lot of people are saying oh as a journalist you should want to talk to Trump or whatever but I think that there’s a time and a place for everything and I don’t know that this was the time or the place for former President Donald Trump.”
After Trump’s attendance, Lamarre and Scales are choosing to stay focused on the convention and are looking forward to the opportunities to network this week.
