Image via Maleika Stewart, MCABJ

By: Freddrell Green, Staff Writer

The National Association of Black Journalists has been a hub that has connected and propeled the careers of some of the greatest Black voices in multimedia by initiating a network and circulating resources and support for aspiring and professional journalists. This semester, Morehouse and Spelman students have brought NABJ’s gifts to their campus through the Morehouse College Association of Black Journalists. MCABJ is a student affiliate chapter under NABJ serving both campuses.  

The idea of creating a chapter was conceived last semester when Morehouse senior Auzzy Byrdsell, the President and Founder of MCABJ, was introduced to Craig Allen Brown, the coordinator of the Journalism in Sports, Culture and Social Justice department and advisor for MCABJ.

“Originally I wanted us to have a full AUC chapter combining Morehouse, Spelman and Clark Atlanta University. But under NABJ, we’re not allowed to have joint chapters, which is why the chapter is not called the ‘SpelHouse’ chapter,” Byrdsell said.

Through collaboration with Spelman senior Sanaa Rowser, Byrdsell had begun working on ideas for programming for the chapter during this past summer. They would go on to establish the chapter even further, writing the bylaws in September and forming the executive board with Byrdsell serving as President and Rowser as Vice President.

They further established their chapter with junior Colin Royal serving as the treasurer, junior Kayla Edelin as Secretary, junior Amaiya Mills as Internship Coordinator and senior Maleika Stewart as Social Media Director.

“That momentum of woman engagement within not only what Morehouse is doing, but with what’s being established at Spelman through journalism really started from the leadership of Auzzy and just his position on the fact that women deserve a voice and they deserve to be heard, especially since they don’t have the backing by the institution to do so,” Rowser said.

MCABJ serves the Atlanta University Center community through its various workshops, events and daily internship and scholarship notifications. Sophomore Sports Journalism major Emmanuel Lee has taken great value in events such as the AP Stylebook and reporting workshops.

“AP style is the thing in journalism. And if you don’t know how to do it in terms of writing and print, that’s an issue,” Lee said.

“When it comes to the broadcast side and interviewing, they show you what it really means to interview and what’s really necessary in order to carry that out successfully,” he said.

Rowser hopes to build off the strong female presence within the chapter by recruiting more Spelmanites into the chapter and creating a pipeline into the field of journalism. She also hopes to partner with alumni of Spelman that have gone on to fruitful careers in journalism.

“I’ve been blessed enough to be placed in this position with the level of exposure that I have so that I can help make those connections between the women in our chapter and the women that I know and have met throughout my reporting and journalism endeavors,” Rowser said.

And as president of the chapter, Byrdsell seeks to make MCABJ stand out among all student chapters as the number one chapter. After he graduates, Byrdsell hopes for MCABJ to be a long lasting organization that embodies the mission statement of Morehouse: to develop disciplined minds that will lead lives of leadership and service.

“You look at some of the most amazing men who have come through Morehouse and gone into journalism careers, or any career for that matter, there’s a strong sense of being able to do something for others,” Byrdsell said.

MCABJ will be hosting a networking mixer on Friday, Nov. 17. A plethora of journalism and media professionals will be there to expose you to the industry. Come out and engage in all that MCABJ has to offer the AUC as an official student chapter.

Copy Edited by: Auzzy Byrdsell, Editor-in-Chief