March 2002

Now, More Than Ever, NYABJ Needs Your Support

Dear members:

The New York Association of Black Journalists has been in existence since 1976, when a group of black journalists organized themselves to sensitive the media to institutional racism and to lobby for an increased presence of blacks in newsrooms. We’re a young organization, one that is still growing and finding its voice, and as such we’ve gone through periods of enthusiastic involvement dovetailed by periods of apathy.

That cycle has to end if we are to be a viable force for the immediate and distant future. But unless more of NYABJ’s members can take the lead from the few volunteers who are at the helm of the ship now I fear NYABJ may slip into another phase where the organization has to be resuscitated from the brink of demise. In order for us to truly grow and remain a relevant group for black journalists in the metro area, individual members have to do their share, in word and in deed. That means stepping up.

As media professionals we have high expectations of the organizations we’re involved in. We demand enthusiastic leadership and a loud voice of advocacy. We deserve that kind of representation, but we also have to realize that we can help fuel that dynamo by each lending a bit of our own energies.

Some members may be unaware that NYABJ is a completely volunteer-run organization. We have no paid staff. All programs, events and projects are executed by members, who not only write a membership check, but also donate their spare time to the success of the organization.

Those members deserve consistent praise because they give of themselves without expecting anything in return. Sometimes it means late nights, a mailbox full of e-mails and fiery debate about our organizational direction. Still, it’s worth it because NYABJ is the only organization that acts as a mouthpiece for the concerns of black journalists in the metro area. We are also one of the few organizations that mentor young journalists, encouraging them to pursue careers in a field where they often receive little support.

As president of this organization I often worry about what’s on the horizon. I wonder where our next leaders will come from if members are too hesitant to embrace the notion that we hold the keys to our own success. A few of us can’t do it all alone.

I talked recently week with Jocelyn Cooper, wife of the late Andrew Cooper, the former publisher of the City Sun. She and I chatted about her plans to establish a scholarship fund in her late husband’s name. She then asked, “How are you doing?” It being a very busy week of NYABJ-related activities I slipped into a brief complaint about the sometimes-taxing duties of president. Mrs. Cooper then told me that in those moments she draws on Harriet Tubman, a woman who had little time to groan about fatigue on her freedom raids.

Ms. Cooper thanked me for my leadership. I want to thank her for a wellspring of newfound inspiration. I hung up with her and got back to work.

Warmest Regards,
Errol Cockfield

Other installments of the President's Corner:
December 2002
August 2002

Errol Cockfield is a political reporter for Newsday. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times and the Hartford Courant. A former coordinator of NYABJ's' High School Journalism Workshop and a past vice president-print with the chapter, Cockfield regularly contributes freelance pieces to magazines, including The Source and Vibe. He is a poet and spoken word performer who has won slam competitions in New York City. Cockfield, a 1994 graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, lives in Queens.