In 1994 I was present at the first Unity Convention in Atlanta. It was then and remains one of the three or four best conventions that I ever attended. During the opening session a couple thousand journalists applauded and cheered as drummers from each culture strode down the aisle. When all were on stage together, drumming in unison, it was a powerful, near revolutionary, spiritually moving experience that left a lasting, positive impression on all in attendance.

There was no such feeling at the fourth Unity Convention. Each group seemed to be operating unto itself. There were several dozen workshops covering a wide variety of issues but again no apparent sense of unity. The convention basically was a large job fair for journalism students seeking entry level jobs and working journalists wanting to change jobs. Since every major broadcast and print corporation was represented, the event should have been a gold mine for job seekers but hovering over the whole scene was the knowledge that many of these same entities have been or are now in the process of downsizing. The resulting fierce competition for jobs may have been one of the key elements affecting unity among the four organizations. Does it have a future? The answer will be revealed if there is another Unity Convention in 2012.

Many had already headed for home when the highly anticipated appearance of Sen. Barack Obama took place July 27, the last day of the convention. That was the only time that just about all of the groups—all that were left—were in one room together.

One member from each organization was selected to ask a question. Though I was among the departed, a colleague from The Philadelphia Inquirer filled me in on the details of Obama’s performance. She noted that although he received a standing ovation, applause and cheers from many in the room, it should not be concluded that those people were working journalists since many students and relatives of attendees were also present. Many Black journalists are sensitive about this since it was reported that Obama’s appearance at the 2007 NABJ Convention was more like a political rally than an assembly of working journalists. The questions and Obama’s responses, which can be read in detail on CNN’s website, were routine. Nothing was asked or stated that would be considered breaking news.

One of the consistent features of NABJ Conventions, including its participation in the Unity Convention, is the almost total lack of presence of journalists from the Black Press, especially Black newspapers. Ebony, Black Enterprise and Essence usually have at least a minor presence but that’s it. The only Black newspaper journalist that I met this year was a reporter from the Michigan Chronicle who was covering the event. Maybe if the Black Press had been represented, someone would have asked Sen. Obama why his campaign has hardly spent a penny with the Black Press, most of which has ardently supported him. Maybe that ardent, blank check support is why the campaign doesn’t feel the necessity to put ads in Black newspapers. Without more membership from Black newspapers, NABJ is, for all practical purposes, The National Association of Black Journalists Who Work For The White Press.

(A. Peter Bailey, a journalist/lecturer, can be reached at apeterb@verizon.net.)