Harris won’t attend NABJ convention as group faces backlash over Trump invitation

Vice President Kamala Harris will not attend the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago, a source with direct knowledge of negotiations told theGrio. The source was granted anonymity to discuss private discussions between Harris’s campaign team and NABJ.

The source told theGrio that Harris is unable to attend the convention, which begins July 31 and ends Aug. 4, due to planning and travels during the first days of the presumptive Democratic nominee’s nascent presidential campaign. Harris is also traveling to Houston to attend the funeral service of late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.

The source also told theGrio that Harris’s campaign team worked very closely with NABJ leadership to find an alternative option. The NABJ team, according to the source, denied a request for the vice president to take part in a fireside chat virtually or schedule an in-person one with Harris at a later date.

When asked during the White House daily briefing on Tuesday about whether Harris or President Joe Biden, who traveled to Austin on Monday to commemorate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, would attend the convention in Chicago, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told theGrio, “The NABJ makes their own decision on guests.”

The Biden spokesperson referred other questions related to Biden and Harris and the NABJ convention to the vice president’s campaign.  

The news that Harris will not attend the convention came as NABJ is marred by controversy. The organization announced it is hosting a town hall on Wednesday with former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. Three Black female journalists—Fox News host Harris Faulkner, ABC reporter Rachel Scott, and Semafor reporter Kadia Goba—will moderate the conversation.

Critics of NABJ’s decision to host Trump point out that, as president, he attacked a number of Black journalists and undermined the free press. The former president notably popularized the term “Fake News” when disparaging news coverage he did not agree with. 

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NABJ President Ken Lemon defended the decision to facilitate the Q&A with Trump. He explained that the non-partisan invitation is a years-long tradition and that it was not an endorsement of Trump.

“We invited both [Trump and Harris]. We got a yes from one of them,” Lemon said in video remarks posted on NABJ’s official X page. 

Lemon also shared that the organization is working to ensure Trump, known for telling falsehoods, is fact-checked during the conversation.

Since the news of Trump’s visit broke on Monday, backlash has ensued, including the resignation of the convention’s co-chair, Karen Attiah.

“While my decision was influenced by a variety of factors, I was not involved or consulted with in any way with the decision to platform Trump in such a format,” she wrote on X.

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) on Tuesday called for NABJ to rescind the Trump invitation. The organization posted an altered version of the event’s digital graphic with the word “Condemned.”

A protest is scheduled for Wednesday morning just before Trump’s appearance at the NABJ convention at the Hilton Chicago. According to the Chicago-based digital news site The Triibe, the “Trump is not welcome in Chicago” demonstration is organized by Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)-Chicago, and US Palestinian Community Network.

As for Vice President Harris, three sources with direct knowledge about NABJ’s planning related to her now-scrapped appearance told theGrio that, similar to Wednesday’s talk with Trump, a panel of respected journalists was on standby to conduct the conversation. 

During Tuesday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre said the Biden-Harris administration has “always been … very direct and very focused on speaking to both local and national Black-owned outlets.”

“We understand the importance of Black Americans [hearing] directly from this administration,” she added.