High Expectations as Unity Opens
by Roman Arellano
The Unity News

Throngs of journalists of color have descended on Seattle this week for the largest gathering of its kind, raising their voices as they push for better representation in newsrooms across the country.

Unity convention goers line up to pick up registration materials. (photo by Ana Lia Gomez)

Wearing buttons that exclaim "Diversity. No excuses," more than 6,000 Asian, black, Hispanic and Native American journalists are arriving to prove their collective power to bring about change.

"By raising our voices together, we can demonstrate the power of our coalition and show that we are building strength in numbers," said Catalina Camia, the Unity board president.

With membership in the four minority journalists organizations rising, turnout was expected to be greater than Unity '94.

Close to 1,700 of the National Association of Black Journalists' 3,000 members registered. Of the 1,600 National Association of Hispanic Journalists members, more than 610 members registered. About 900 of the Asian American Journalists Association's 1,900 members are registered. Close to 291 of the 500 Native American Journalists Association's members registered. But with walk-in registrations, the number of participants is expected to rise above 6,000 for the second joint convention in five years.

"It is a spiritual experience," said Kara Briggs, Unity secretary and reporter for The Oregonian. "It is going to stir them in their souls to see journalists of color in the same room."

According to Briggs, Unity promotes media coverage of communities of color, education of journalists, retention programs and paid internships.

In addition, the convention offers journalists the opportunity to improve skills, develop new ones and network with people they would not ordinarily meet.

"It's a chance to demonstrate to the industry that we are a force for change," said Camia, who is also president of AAJA and covers Congress for the Dallas Morning News.

According to Jackie Greene, NABJ representative and information technology director at USA Today, "Unity '99 is the culmination of five years of research and planning by journalists of color and the most ambitious [project] of its kind."

"We are going to have the people who are going to create the next media," Briggs said.

The Unity convention spans not only ethnic groups but also generations, as veterans share their skills with aspiring journalists.

Unlike the convention held in Atlanta in 1994, Unity '99 includes Student Campus, a program for college students conducted before the convention to help participants get the most out of Unity. NAHJ was the first to introduce Student Campus at its 1995 convention in El Paso. The three other groups followed.

At Unity in Atlanta, students reported daily on convention events for radio, television and newspaper projects supervised by professional journalists. The online project is being introduced at this year's convention.

But newcomers to journalism won't be the only beneficiaries at UNITY. Veterans will be rewarded too.

"The convention is a major motivator," Greene said. "It is a great place where members can renew their spirit and [commitment] to journalism."

UNITY also reaches people outside the news industry by showing them the importance of a diverse work force and diverse news coverage.

"Without both of those things, the media is simply inaccurate and not credible," said Camia, congressional reporter for the Dallas Morning News. "Who wants to read a newspaper or watch a television newscast that tells only one story? There are many stories in America and, as journalists of color, we are the people who can tell them," she added.

The four associations will have a chance to prove to the industry that they have the power and can work together for responsible change.

"We can demonstrate to society how people can effectively build bridges across racial lines," Camia said, adding that she hopes attendees will make new friends and learn from them.

"Many of the stories that are told by the media still come to us through the eyes of white men," said Camia. "But America is a diverse place and there are many stories that are out there."

Journalists of color have a responsibility to access the media in order to tell their stories accurately and fairly, she said.

"We are calling on the American media to cover all segments of society, not just part of it," Briggs said.

Planners of this year's event drew on "Breaking Down the Walls," a report based on evaluations of the first gathering in Atlanta.

"Organizers have worked diligently to ensure a diversity of opinions and perspectives this summer in Seattle," NABJ's Greene said.

Bringing together a diverse group started as an idea by two Philadelphia city hall reporters - Will Sutton Jr., an African American active in NABJ, and, Juan Gonz‡lez, a Puerto Rican involved with NAHJ - as they talked about their common struggles as journalists of color in 1986. Patrisia Gonzalez, an Inquirer reporter, later joined the effort.

AAJA and NAJA were included in 1988 when the four association presidents at the time - Mark Trahant of NAJA, Dewayne Wickham of NABJ, Lloyd LaCuesta of AAJA and Evelyn Hern‡ndez of NAHJ - decided to see whether their members would sponsor joint activities, and discussed their fears and hopes during a meeting in Baltimore.

One of their fears was the possible loss of power and control over each association's agenda. Another concern was that the industry would assume that this joint effort would eliminate the need to fund four individual groups.

The greatest concern, though, was when and where the meeting would be held.

Organizers knew the convention would have to be far enough in the future to allow for adequate planning, but soon enough to capture the motivation and excitement generated in Baltimore. After much debate, it was agreed that the first convention would be held in Atlanta in 1994.

News media industry leaders labeled the October 1988 joint meeting in Baltimore "historic." Perhaps the Seattle Unity will be similarly labeled. Near the end of the century, after five years of planning, Unity '99 promises to be even bigger and better than the 1994 meeting.

Nancy A. Baca, NAHJ president and assistant features editor at the Albuquerque Journal, said that Unity '99, like NAHJ, is promoting race relations, and that Unity is a bigger national platform.

NABJ's Greene said, "Never in the history of the news industry has there been a larger networking and career-building event.''

Comparing the 1994 convention in Atlanta with what is planned for this summer in Seattle, Briggs said, "[The convention of] '94 was the place where we knew that we can speak in one voice. [Unity] '99 is the exploration of what we are together."