National Association of Black Journalists members furious over Donald Trump's convention invitation

The decision to invite Trump to speak at the annual convention has sparked outrage among some members.

Donald Trump has received an invitation to speak at the National Association of Black Journalists' annual convention in Chicago on Wednesday, causing uproar among some of the country's leading Black journalists. Karen Attiah, a columnist for The Washington Post, resigned as co-chair of the event in protest.

On the first day, Trump is scheduled to engage in a "special conversation" with moderators Harris Faulkner from Fox News, Rachel Scott from ABC News, and Kadia Goba from Semafor.

We're hearing that the decision has sparked outrage among some members, leading a few to cancel their attendance in disgust.

Jim Trotter, who was named NABJ's 2023 Journalist of the Year, expressed his frustration over what he called a "poor decision," stating it was "it’s difficult to put into words.”

Carron J. Phillips, a Pulitzer Prize nominee and past NABJ award winner, condemned the decision on X, calling it “this is the single dumbest and worst decision in NABJ history. Whoever made this call is an idiot. And I’ll say it to their face this week.”

Tia Mitchell from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution replied to Phillips, admitting she was part of the decision to invite Trump.

“I helped make this call. And it’s in line with invitations NABJ has sent to every presidential candidate for decades. But continue to go off on your feed. I’ll continue to work to create opportunities for journalists to interview the potential next President,” she shot back.

Attiah clarified that she had no involvement in the decision when she announced her resignation as co-chair on Tuesday.

“While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format,” she wrote.