TSU and HBCU Cohorts Continue To Exemplify Excellence By Landing Invitation To Third Annual CJD Summit

By: Jada B. Terry

On Wednesday, October 8, The Center for Journalism and Democracy (CJD) hosted several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) at its annual summit on the campus of Howard University (HU) in Washington, D.C.

Before the summit, in preparation for the discussions, an “INDABA” Student Press Leadership and Innovation Conference was held for HBCU news teams to discuss visions for each university’s newsroom and how they would cover the upcoming election.

“So far, this conference has benefitted me by allowing me to see how other newsrooms work and function.”

Multimedia journalist De’Zaria Lucas of North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) Campus Echo.

“We can bring back home to our newsroom what we learned from the panelists and other student journalists,” she said.

With the presidential election now less than a month away, Americans anticipate an unprecedented race that will redefine the future of democracy in the U.S.

That is why student, professional, and expert journalists gathered to talk about these important topics.

This year’s theme for the summit focused on the rise of oligarchy in the U.S. and politics.

An oligarchy is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a few people.

Keynote speaker Jeffrey Winters, a professor of political science and author of “Oligarchy,” introduced the term and explained how it affects democracy and politics.

“One of the most important things wealth power does is that it limits and constrains the spectrum of what democracy can be,” he said. 

Jeffrey Winters, professor of political science

“One of the key objectives of those with wealth power is to narrow and control the agenda,” he continued.

Throughout the summit, students asked questions and took notes to gain a further understanding of the concepts being discussed to be able to bring back what they learned to their newsrooms and campuses.

For one HU student, Skyler Winston, this was a new experience, she said she’ll never forget.

“This is my first time attending the CJD summit. When I saw the registration flyers going up, I immediately registered,” she said. “I wanted to know what was going on. I’m walking away feeling ambitious and energized, like I’m ready to do the work that’s required. I think it was important for journalism students to be here, not just from HU but other HBCUs, because the election is coming up and this was pivotal information to hear. I think the information we learned here we’ll report in our coverage when it’s time.”

Winston’s enthusiasm to bring back everything she learned back to her campus aligns directly with why Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and CJD founder Nikole Hannah-Jones brings students to this annual event, and why she created the CJD in the first place.

“On top of this annual summit that we do for journalists, we’re also creating a one-of-a-kind journalism consortium with our HBCU partners,” said Hannah-Jones. “We are working to really spread the wealth and help our students across the consortium of HBCUs.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones

As of today, Black journalists only account for 6% of journalism professionals and Hannah-Jones work with HBCUs will undoubtedly change the landscape of journalism in the future.

Jerry LeDoux, a TSU student, echoed Hannah-Jones’ sentiment about being included in the conversation and said to move forward, HBCUs need to be included.

“How can we be a democracy if HBCUs are not included in conversations?” he asked. “Democracy is supposed to be for the people. How can democracy be a thing if HBCUs are not in these conversations that they should be part of?”

Jerry LeDoux, a TSU student

At this year’s annual summit, not only was oligarchy introduced and as to how it affects politics, but HBCU students also learned how desperately they need to be a part of the conversation to move the future of journalism forward.