National Newspaper Publishers Association, the nation’s oldest organization of Black publishers will convene today and tomorrow for their annual convention, which will be held virtually due to COVID-19. The theme of the 2020 conference is Trust, Hope & Resilience: Overcoming COVID-19.
Highlights of this year’s conference includes directly addressing the COVID-19 impact on the Black community with discussions featuring infectious disease experts and African American doctors on the front lines of COVID-19 treatment and research at the University of Virginia.
You will also hear from member publications on issues impacting the Black Press and the African American community, community partners, members of Congress and many more.
Panelists include rap legend/activist/media mogul Ice Cube, rap legend MC Lyte, Mississippi Link Publisher Jackie Hampton, Stacy Brown, Senior National Correspondent NNPA, San Diego Voice and Viewpoint Publisher Dr. John Warren, Dr. Kevin Williams, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Pfizer Rare Disease (Pfizer Rare Disease), Darlene Goins, Senior Vice President, Head of Financial Health Philanthropy Wells Fargo Foundation, Jan-Michele Lemon-Kearney, Esq., President of Sesh Communications, Publisher of The Cincinnati Herald, The Northern Kentucky Herald, The Dayton Defender, seshPRIME Magazine and PIX (News in Pictures) and Colin Topper Carew, founder of the Techquity Research Group and faculty fellow at the Innovation Lab at Spelman College and MIT Lab.
NNPA will also celebrate its 80th anniversary and award those who have greatly impacted the African American community. Honored guests include Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, rap icon/activist Chuck D, music legend Mary Wilson, attorney and social justice advocate Benjamin Crump and global music icon Ziggy Marley.
This year’s conference will also be celebrating 80 years of the NNPA and 193 years of the Black Press. Learn more about the Black Press below:
NNPA is a trade association of the more than 200 African American-owned community newspapers from around the United States. Since its founding 80 years ago, NNPA has consistently been the voice of the black community and an incubator for news that makes history and impacts the world. As the largest and most influential Black-owned media resource in America, NNPA delivers news, information, and commentary to over 20 million people each week.
Karen Carter Richards, publisher of the Houston Times, is Chairwoman of the NNPA Board. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr. serves as NNPA President and CEO.
For more information and to register for the conference which is free, visit https://virtualnnpa2020.com/ or click here.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, founder & editor of The Burton Wire, an NNPA digital member publication. Dr. Burton also serves as Culture and Entertainment Editor for NNPA/BlackPressUSA and hosts their livestream series featuring HBCU Presidents.
Follow Nsenga on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Find out more about NNPA, here.
