WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 7, 2017) -- The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is launching a new program to help change the lives and images of black men in the news and in society. The NABJ Black Male Media Project is a nationwide effort to open doors and change the narrative of black men.

The NABJ Black Male Media Project will launch its first program in various cities across the United States on Saturday, June 10, 2017. The program is designed to inspire, support and develop training and mentorship opportunities for black men working in journalism and media and those that aspire to.

"NABJ has created the Black Male Media Project to combat the blotter-to-mugshot images of black male faces, and to create a fresh and real view of black men in America and across the diaspora," said NABJ President Sarah Glover.

All NABJ chapters are invited to join the dialogue on June 10 by creating local workshops and sessions aimed at cultivating skills and broadening the networking opportunities for black men in media. This program is not exclusive to black participation and is aimed at helping all people engage around the value of black males working in newsrooms and media.

Participating chapters will promote the project using the hashtag #InspireBlackMen. Learning will be cultivated in various cities concurrently on social media platforms by the local chapters via echo comments, ideas, videos and photos.

The second phase of the NABJ Black Male Media Project will be a digital photography project showcased at the NABJ Annual Convention & Career Fair from Aug. 9-13 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NABJ members will be invited to share positive pictures of black men where they are, as they are.

Some of the images will be displayed during the #NABJ17 Convention, and hopefully a traveling juried exhibit will be feasible in the future. More details are forthcoming on the digital photography project.

At the #NABJ17 Convention, there will be a special reconvening workshop session focusing on black men and the #InspireBlackMen project.

NABJ chapters interested in hosting one of the concurrent June 10 training programs should contact NABJ Council of Presidents Chair Ken Lemon by April 14 to indicate interest at InspireBlackMen@gmail.com.

Please share this post with other journalists and use #InspireBlackMen to begin the dialogue that will help fuel a change in the perspective of black men.