LABJ SC Chapter

The coastal region of South Carolina, nicknamed “the Lowcountry,” has a rich intermingled history of African-American heritage and Gullah-Geechie culture. The area includes, but is not limited to, three designated market areas: Savannah, Myrtle Beach-Florence and the Charleston-metropolitan area, six counties and more than two dozen cities. The Charleston-metro area alone has an African-American p

opulation of more than 40%. Black culture plays a significant role in the tourism industry of Charleston. So much so, annually the city hosts music and cultural events such as MOJA Music Festival, Charleston Jazz Festival, Charleston Fashion Week as well as a host of church and religious events. The goals of the Lowcountry Association of Black Journalists, also known as “LABJ,” would be as follows:

- Establish strong ties among people of color working in the media.
- Recruit/educate/mentor student and aspiring journalists.
- Provide professional development/training to working journalists as it pertains to growth in digital media, storytelling, writing, and public relations.
- Connect media employers to a culturally diverse group of potential employees.
- Sensitize media representatives to the importance of racial objectivity in workplace relations and publications.
- Encourage attitudes of inclusivity and respect for diversity among journalists and working in the market, as well as with the general public.
- Promote better media access by blacks, including offering public workshops on effective strategies for getting news in newspapers and on television and radio.
- To expand and balance the media’s coverage of the black community and the black experience.
- Generate a foundation between African American journalists, as well as the general public. The LABJ is South Carolina’s first affiliate chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), founded in 1975 as an organization of journalists, students and media-related professionals that provides quality programs and services to and advocates on behalf of black journalists worldwide. NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation. NABJ holds an annual convention and career fair each summer with dozens of plenary sessions and workshops for professional development. The career fair draws hundreds of recruiters and is among the best means of finding a job in the industry. The annual Salute to Excellence awards and special recognition honors (Lifetime Achievement, Journalist of the Year, Community Service, etc.) Each year, NABJ awards nearly $100,000 in scholarships and internships to college and high school students nationwide, as well as fellowships for seasoned professionals. The NABJ Media Institute provides professional development and technical training for black journalists at venues across the country. NABJ is headquartered on the campus of the University of Maryland-College Park, 1100 Knight Hall, Suite 3100, College Park, Maryland 20742.