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The Black Press Seminar
A Contribution to the legacy of UDC

BY DEMEL BABER

Black Press panelists from left to right: Denise Rolark Barnes,   Brain DeBose, Askia Muhammad, Valencia Mohammed

Students, faculty and staff enjoyed rousing debates during the Journalism Club's 9th Annual Black Press Seminar April 18. The seminar consisted of two forums.

The first was "The Hip-Hop Industry and News Media." The event began with an introduction from the USGA President, William Kellibrew, IV followed by a welcome from Dr. Meredith Rode who is the chair of the Department of Mass Media, Visual and Performing Arts. The second was "Through the Eyes of the Black Press: Is the U.S. Ready for the Presidency of Barrack Obama or Hillary Clinton?"

The discussion was a fiery one, filled with the honest comments from the panelists and the audience, the latter included UDC President Dr. William L. Pollard. The panelists represented a wide range of media from newspaper to radio. On the first segment's roster panelists were Khalil Abdullah of New America Media. Ra Ja S. Kelley of the Washington Informer, Theola Labbe of the Washington Post, Pharoh Talib Martin of Streetz Magazine, Cheryl Hawkins of DC TV, and Alafaka Opuiyo of the Washington Afro. The first session also included performances from local rap artists Vicee and Young Boi. UDC Journalism Club Vice President, Michael Savitch made closing remarks.

Though the first segment was full of hot topics pertaining to the pros and cons of rap and the news media, the second forum held its own. The panelists for this segment were Professor A. Peter Bailey, Valencia Mohammed of the Washington Afro, Brian DeBose of the Washington Times, Gloria Minott of WPFW Radio, Khalil Abdullah of New America Media, Askia Muhammed of the Final Call Newspaper and WPFW Radio and lastly Denise Rolark-Barnes of the Washington Informer.

The UDC Journalism Club, with the tireless assistance of Mass Media professor Joe Elam, was founded in 1999 and had evolved from a media publications club of which Professor Elam was chairman. The seminar grows bigger and more successful each year and the names of the panelists continue to vary.

According to students and participants, the seminar was a success in every aspect. "I thought it was really nice. I really enjoyed it. We had some really good panelists and I am really interested in the poem Askia Muhammad recited" said Michael Savitch, student and vice president of the Journalism Club. "Their voices were so full of energy" said Mass Media student Malikah Collier.

 

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