Institute Showcases History of Black Journalists on the Web
OAKLAND, Calif.
The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (MIJE) is using video on the Web to tell a forgotten chapter of journalism history.
The Maynard Institute late last month launched “The Black Journalists Movement,” a unique online oral history project that gives voice to Black journalists recalling their struggle to integrate White newsrooms. Culled from videotaped interviews with some of the nation’s most prominent journalists, the collection serves as a reminder of the important contributions made by journalists of color.
“This is one of the most significant projects ever undertaken by the institute because it graphically illustrates the contributions of so many great journalists,” says MIJE President Dori J. Maynard. “These stories are gripping accounts of what it took to change the world of journalism. These stories show how you can’t have good journalism without including all of America’s voices; a critical perspective at the very time when newsroom diversity is again under siege.”
The collection is part of the Maynard History Project, an ongoing effort to preserve the stories of those African American journalists who broke into general circulation media during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. The series will feature a new theme each month through the end of the year, giving viewers a look behind the scenes at events that shaped our nation from coverage of the race riots and the Vietnam War to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is dedicated to training journalists of color and helping the news media reflect the nation’s diversity in staffing, content and business operations. Incorporated in 1977 as the Institute for Journalism Education, MIJE was renamed in 1993 to honor its first chairman, the late Robert C. Maynard, former owner and publisher of the Oakland Tribune. The History Project and the Institute Web site are made possible through funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
