Watch: Keynote to Report for America Grads: ‘You deserve a place at the table’

From GroundTruth:

Report for America corps members, family, friends and staff came together virtually last night to celebrate the graduation of nearly 100 journalists from the national service program.

The grads have all completed at least one year of service with Report America with several having two to three years in the reporting corps under their belts.

Dorothy Tucker, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and an award-winning investigative reporter at CBS2 Chicago, delivered the commencement address. She shared the successes and challenges that have come with her decades of journalism experience and reminded the corps members that their work is vital—and more importantly that they matter.

“You have stories to tell in your voices from your own perspective, from your own experiences. And that’s why you deserve a place at the table,” Tucker said. “Throughout American history, journalists working in local media have pushed their communities to understand and act upon the issues that plague them from criminal environmental justice to corruption in town halls, school boards, and state legislators, from gun control to stories surrounding mental health. Local reporters are telling critical stories that might not otherwise be covered.”