NABJ honors punisher of The Atlanta Voice with 2021 Legacy Award

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced that Janis L. Ware, steadfast of The Atlanta Voice, volition person its Legacy Award, a peculiar grant presented during its 2021 Hall of Fame Inductees, Special Honors Recipients and Finalists ceremony. 

The enactment is holding the ceremonial virtually, connected Saturday, December 4, astatine 7:30 p.m. ET, done a escaped video watercourse that volition see peculiar guests, amusement and interactive features. 

“I americium highly honored to beryllium chosen to person the NABJ Legacy Award,” Ware said. “Despite being a steadfast of a paper for implicit 30 years, I’m ever amazed erstwhile idiosyncratic takes the clip to admit the enactment that my enactment and I person done.” 

“We’ve been astatine it for 56 years and since taking implicit for my begetter J. Lowell Ware, The Atlanta Voice has managed to supply our assemblage with the accusation that it needs. And successful the process we’ve managed to proceed to up our game. In my eyes, it isn’t Janis L. Ware receiving the NABJ 2021 Legacy Award, but Janis L. Ware and The Atlanta Voice due to the fact that erstwhile you grant me, you’re acknowledging my squad and the enactment that we volition proceed to bash for different 56 years and more.”

During the virtual awards ceremony, NABJ volition induct 8 caller members into its Hall of Fame and grant 14 Special Honors to Black journalists and communicators from astir the world.  

The awards ceremonial volition besides item winners of NABJ’s Salute to Excellence Awards, which recognizes journalism and communications enactment that champion screen the Black acquisition oregon code issues affecting the worldwide Black community. Salute to Excellence nominees volition beryllium announced aboriginal this month. 

NABJ volition besides grant Black journalists and communicators we’ve mislaid implicit the past twelvemonth with a peculiar In Memoriam tribute.

“Every year, NABJ pays homage to legendary Black journalists and media professionals who person made outstanding contributions to our industry,” said Dorothy Tucker, NABJ President. “We are honored to admit the distinguished enactment of this year’s Hall of Fame people and the interaction of the individuals and groups receiving our Special Honors awards. We besides look guardant to celebrating our 2021 Salute to Excellence finalists and winners.”

NABJ 2021 Hall of Fame inductees are:

• A.J. Smitherman, Tulsa Star (posthumously)
• Claire Smith, Temple University /MLB Writer

• Cornelius “Neil” Foote Jr., Foote Communications, LLC/ University of North Texas

• Kirk McKoy, Kirk McKoy Photography, Formerly L.A. Times
• Monica Roberts, TransGriot (posthumously)

• Rochelle Riley, ​​City of Detroit/Author

• Rodney A. Brooks, U.S. News & World Report/Author
• Roland S. Martin,  #RolandMartinUnfiltered/Black Star Network

NABJ 2021  Special Honors recipients are:

• Libor Jany (Star Tribune) – Journalist of the Year Award
• Malika Andrews (ESPN) – Michael J. Feeney Emerging Journalist of the Year Award
• Art Norman (NBC Chicago) – Chuck Stone Lifetime Achievement Award
• Jenise Griffin (Florida Courier/Daytona Times) – Journalist of Distinction Award
• Janis Ware (The Atlanta Voice) – Legacy Award
• Sonceria Messiah Jiles (Houston Defender) – Ida B. Wells Award
• Anas Aremeyaw Anas (​​Insight TWI) – Percy Qoboza Foreign Journalist of the Year Award
• Dr. Sherri Williams (American University) – Journalism Educator of the Year Award
• Aprill O. Turner  (Higher Heights for America) – Patricia L. Tobin Media Professional Award
• Tenisha Taylor (​​Ezekiel Taylor Scholarship Foundation) – Angelo B. Henderson Community Service Award
• Giulia Heyward (Hussman School of Journalism and Media) – Student Journalist of the Year Award
• The Dallas Morning News – Best Practices Award
• Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, Baltimore Association of Black Journalists, and Memphis Association of Black Journalists – Finalists for the NABJ Professional Chapter of the Year Award
• Howard University Association of Black Journalists and University of North Texas Association of Black Journalists – Finalists for the NABJ Student Chapter of the Year Award 

The winners of the NABJ Chapters of the Year Awards volition beryllium announced during the December 4 ceremony. During the ceremony, NABJ volition besides denote the recipient of the Thumbs Down Award. 

Thumbs Down is presented annually to an idiosyncratic oregon enactment for particularly insensitive, racist oregon stereotypical reporting, commentary, photography, oregon cartoons astir the Black assemblage oregon for engaging successful practices astatine likelihood with the goals of NABJ.

The lawsuit nexus volition beryllium announced successful the coming weeks. 

The 2021 NABJ Awards is presented by FedEx and sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. Follow the hashtag #NABJAwards to enactment updated connected lawsuit accusation oregon sojourn NABJOnline.org.