Commentary: Unity 99 is also about respect
By Vonetta Booker
Unity 99 Convention Online Staff

For a few days during July, Seattle's complexion had a little more color (well, at least the downtown area did) thanks to Unity '99. Over 6,000 journalists of color networked, recruited, and reunited with many faces they hadn't seen since the last convention. The "chi-ching" sound of cash registers in the Convention Center's stores (thanks to Unity's business) no doubt had proprietors drunk with happiness. Everybody and their mama had name badges swinging around their necks wherever one went.

And of course, there were the Student Projects. Two hundred students and graduates from across the country busting their behinds for a week, covering Unity in print, new media, television and radio media. As a member of the new media team, I can say I had a very interesting (and busy) experience during the past few days.

However, there were a few things I couldn't help but notice during my time here. As the Student Project members covered nearly every issue, reception, banquet and ceremony, I heard much of the same thing over and over. That Unity '99 was about "the different associations coming together in harmony," etc. The way some people were gushing, I actually though they were about to join hands and break out in song with "We Are the World."

Indeed, unity is a very beautiful, empowering, mind-soothing thing-when it's real. But amidst all the talk, I heard folks murmuring. About how long it supposedly took just to get the associations together for Unity. Asking why the associations all seemed to be going off to their own separate functions after talking about how great it was for everyone to be "together." Being a first-time convention-goer, I couldn't help but wonder the same thing myself. A couple of "veterans" told me, "Oh, it's actually getting better-you should have attended the last time." I figured that if that was the case, at least people are making an effort.

But it's not just about cliques among organizations. Although countless people at Unity have been fabulous about helping younger journalists, I'm disturbed by what I see as a condescending attitude by some older, more "established" journalists towards college students and recent graduates.

An incident that occurred Friday night was, unfortunately, a good example of this. A fellow student project reporter and I attended the NABJ Newsmaker Banquet to get some quotes from the speakers, when a young brother, working the event as an usher, made a comment to us about being "late" (mind you, although the hall was full they'd just began to serve the salad) and us doing "the kind of journalism that belongs in the white man's press." Huh?

After informing him I didn't appreciate him lecturing me on how to do my job, he threw open the door and rudely yelled at us to "get out." I laughed at him. Told him to go and get his supervisor-now. He stormed off and brought back an NABJ official who then excused his nasty behavior by saying, "Well, he's been on his feet for 15 hours-try to give him a break." All-righty, then. As if we were the ones that provoked the incident. As if that made his highly unprofessional behavior okay. The woman's whole attitude reeked of, "You're a couple of lowly student reporters/interns who should be glad to be here-why should we take you seriously?"

We refused to stop there, taking the issue up with another official who actually took the time to address the situation and handle the usher/wannabe rent-a-cop accordingly, which my colleague and I appreciated greatly. He apologized for the incident and added, "Sometimes, people fail to realize they were starting out once, too."

How profound. As I pack my bags to fly back to New York, let me reiterate that people definitely need to have respect for others, if there's going to be any so-called "Unity." It doesn't matter how many years you've been an editor-in-chief at a top newspaper or magazine. My colleague and I felt we needed to drive the point home that we (and everyone else involved in the Student Project) got those positions due to our hard work and talent-not because some higher up decided to bestow pity on us lowly younguns who were undeserving of respect. Respect, unity-it's all one in the same. And if we're going to talk the talk, then we'd better be ready to walk the walk. Take that with you and go in peace, people.