A Sweet Fundraiser for Journal-isms

A Day to Celebrate Diversity, Longevity and Accountability

Homepage photo: Richard Prince, by Julia Wilson

Part 2 is at https://www.journal-isms.com/a-sweet-fundraiser-for-journal-isms-cont/

Video and more photos: https://tinyurl.com/3vc3d5ty

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Sweet Honey in the Rock (Credit: Sam Fulwood III/BlueChipBlack Photography)

A Day to Celebrate Diversity, Longevity and Accountability

Journal-isms held its first-ever fundraiser outdoors on a 90-degree Saturday, June 21, in Alexandria, Va., attracting 30 or so people to hear the celebrated a capella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, to meet and greet and to support the cause — providing accountability reporting on diversity issues in the news business.

More than $5,000 had been raised as of June 23, and those who could not be there in person sent and continue to send donations. The event was organized by the Mildred and Jube Foundation Inc., a non-profit charitable organization.

Coming the weekend after Juneteenth, during the Investigative Reporters and Editors annual conference, and the day before the solstice marking the beginning of summer, there was plenty of competition for attendees’ time. Yet for some, the fellowship alone was the day’s hallmark.

“You can tell the quality of someone by the quality of their friends. You have terrific friends,” one guest told the Journal-isms author.

Fred Sweets, veteran photographer and contributing editor at the St. Louis American, drove across the country from St. Louis to be there. “There was a good crowd, a great setting and gracious hosts,” another wrote the Journal-isms author. “A well-deserved testament to your many years of diligent journalism in service to diversity within the craft.”

For the group’s 50th anniversary, journalist Junette Pinkney interviewed Sweet Honey in The Rock, the a cappella vocal ensemble formed in Washington, D.C., in 1973 who tell the stories of Black culture through women’s voices. Four members — Aisha Khalil, Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson and Nitanju Bolade Casel — explained how the group managed to stay together all that time, with 28 people having been in part of the ensemble over the years.

Sam Fulwood III, veteran journalist and educator, and his colleague Amy Saidman introduced attendees to Story District, an organization planning “Behind the Headlines: DC Black Journalists Share Their Stories,” a project that plans to “spotlight the personal and professional journeys of six Black journalists in Washington, D.C., culminating in a live storytelling performance in April 2026.

“Through a structured development process — including community engagement, mentorship, rehearsals, and media documentation—this initiative will preserve and amplify the voices of Black journalists whose stories reflect the challenges, triumphs, and nuances of reporting in the nation’s capital,” the group says. The project is being funded by Humanities DC.

The Rahmat Shabazz Quartet provided both danceable and mellow jazz, and, along with the caterer, won kudos.

The location provided a historical setting of its own. In a 2023 ceremony hosted by Jube Shiver Jr., Fairfax County, Va., officials helped celebrate the county’s designation of Randall Estates — where the Shiver-hosted fundraiser was held — as a “historic district” (scroll down). And next month, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources is holding a meeting with community residents as the penultimate step of Randall Estates joining the federal government’s National Register of Historic Places.

Randall Estates’ developers navigated Jim Crow to make it one of the few Black subdivisions of its scope put together by African Americans for African Americans in the segregated South.

Among those receiving shout-outs from the fundraiser stage were legendary journalist Dorothy Gilliam, first Black female reporter at the Washington Post; Celia Wexler, president of the D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists; Julia Wilson, dean of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University; Jai-Leen James, vice president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists; Fergus Shiel, managing editor of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; Lynne Adrine, Journal-isms Inc. board member; and Betty Anne Williams, member of the Journal-isms organizing committee. Ingrid Sturgis, who chairs the Department of Media, Journalism and Film at Howard University, represented that institution.

Shiel, a native of Ireland, presented Journal-isms author Richard Prince with a copy of the Irish book “Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes,” by Leon Diop and Briana Fitzsimons.

In that day’s Washington Post, longtime editorial columnist Colbert I. King (pictured) a former deputy editorial page editor, surprised many readers with this announcement: “I have now decided that come September, when I reach my 35-year milestone as a Post journalist, I shall strike my tent and silently move on into the night.“

Told about the fundraiser, King cited his hospitalization for an unexpected illness and said, “raise one for me.” We did.

All photos by Sam Fulwood III / BlueChipBlack Photography except where otherwise indicated.

Richard Prince (Credit: Julia Wilson)

On the tables. (Credit: Richard Prince)

The invitations. (Credit: Jube Shiver Jr.)

Amy Saidman of ‘Story District’

Scott Hollingsworth of ‘Story District’ with Louise Robinson of Sweet Honey In the Rock

From left, Joe Davidson, Fred Sweets and Frank James.

The temperature reached 90 degrees.

Tadasha Shiver, co-host of the event.

Isaiah Poole

Cynthia Bell, left, and Carolyn Clark

Edward Sargent

Carl Dickerson

Jai-Leen James, vice president of the Washington Association of Black Journalists

Dorothy Gilliam

Tadasha Shiver

Cynthia Bell, left, Tadasha Shiver and Carolyn Clark.

Carolyn Clark, right, whispers to Cynthia Bell

(continued in Part 2 )

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Society of Professional Journalists, Washington, D.C. chapter: Richard Prince accepts Hall of Fame honor at SPJ-DC Hall of Fame Ceremony, June 10, 2025 (video)

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Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity. Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms+owner@groups.io

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