1982–1983
It all began with an idea from Professor Marian Huttenstine and then graduate student Marie Parsons to recruit and develop Black students for careers in journalism.
In a grant proposal to the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund (an organization that would go on to sponsor numerous MJW camps), Huttenstine wrote,
“The University and the School of Communication are serious about our concern and commitment to the preparation of blacks for communication positions in the state. … We simply need to increase those numbers. We hope that a program based on early identification [of student journalists] and follow-up will accomplish that goal.”
Summer 1984
Under the director of its “workshop coordinator,” Marie Parsons, the first summer Urban Minority Journalism Workshop (UMJW) is held with 11 Black high school students from across the state of Alabama.
Also during 1984, students were taken on the first American Society of News Editors (NSNE) Job Fair trip. To date, more than 1,000 students have participated in job fairs across the country sponsored by MJW.
The student support group, Minorities for Careers in Communication, begins. It would later become the Capstone Association of Black Journalists in 1993.
The workshop name would quickly change to the Minority Journalism Workshop, and would continue to grow in size each year through the 1980s.
1985–1993
The University of Alabama, Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, Freedom Forum, individual Alabama newspapers and broadcast stations, Alabama Press Association Journalism Foundation, Alabama Broadcasters Association Foundation, New York Times Foundation, John F. and James L. Knight Foundation, Scripps Howard Foundation, Gannett Foundation, Mercedes-Benz USA International, The Tuscaloosa News, Mobile Press-Register and others contribute to program.
Endowed scholarships totaling $70,000 are designated for minorities during University’s capital campaign.
Annual summer MJW programs attract an average of 15 students. Professional journalists visit, teach, mentor students as they publish workshop newspaper. Minority percentage rises to 12% in the Journalism Department and College of Communication.
Noted Black journalist Paul Delaney, who worked for the New York Times, becomes chairman of department in 1992. He had been a frequent guest lecturer at workshops. Delaney resigned in 1996 to take a position at Howard University.
The Journalism Department graduates 10 print journalism and 6 broadcast journalism majors in 1992, an all-time high. These numbers continue to rise at the Capstone. The department also develops a database of minority students dating back to 1982, and begins tracking them from the annual workshop through college and throughout their career.
1998–2021
The 2001 MJW is the last workshop to be directed by MJP co-founder Marie Parsons, who retired before the 2002 program.
In 2004, the Minority Journalism Program becomes Multicultural Journalism Program, recognizing the fact that for several years, all races have been invited to attend the workshop.
In 2006, veteran journalist Merv Aubespin, the godfather of our MJW program, makes his 14th visit to the Capstone.
In 2008, Meredith Cummings is hired as director of MJW and ASPA.
In 2011, MJW receives the Diversity Award, given by the Journalism Education Association.
In 2012, founder Marie Parsons receives the Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Journalism Education Association. MJW students cover the Gulf Coast oil spill two years after the environmental crisis.
In 2013, the workshop celebrates its 30th-anniversary milestone by covering the 50th anniversary of various Civil Rights events in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.
In 2015, Dow Jones News Fund pulls its funding of many workshops around the country, including MJW, a sign of the downturn in financial support for news outlets across America. The Department of Journalism and Creative Media, Alabama Scholastic Press Association, Alabama Press Association Foundation and Alabama Broadcasters Association continue to fund the workshop, but the workshops are limited to 10–15 students.
In 2020, MJW students planned to once again head to the Gulf Coast to cover the effects of the BP oil spill 10 years later. COVID-19 disrupted this class from completing the workshop. Accepted participants could defer to the next year.
2021–Present
In 2021, MJW hosts its first virtual workshop due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 11 students from seven states.
In 2023, MJW hosted six students for the first in-person program after COVID-19 under the direction of interim director, Dr. Dianne Bragg.
In August 2023, Becky Robinson is hired as the director of MJW and the Alabama Scholastic Press Association. Her first MJW camp will take place May 31–June 9, 2024.
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