Once again, The Atlanta Voice returned home from the annual National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Messenger Awards with multiple citations for excellence in reporting. The Atlanta Voice won third-place awards in the categories of Entertainment, the Armstrong Ellington award; Fashion, the Ada S. Franklin award; and Sports, the Don King award.
The Atlanta Voice was also awarded a third-place award for overall newspaper excellence, the John H. Sengstacke award. The Philadelphia Tribune was first, followed by the Baltimore Afro-American.
This year’s Messenger Awards, hosted by The Savannah Tribune, took place in Savannah. The convention, which took place from June 25 to 28 at the JW Marriott Savannah Plant District Hotel on River Street, was themed “Engaging Black America: Empowerment, Justice, and Prosperity.”
This year’s program included messages from local pastors, local educators, and panels on everything from how to better engage Generation Z and Alpha, expanding reporting on Project 2025, the need for Black-owned banks and businesses, and harmful federal policies that may impact the Black press.
During the final morning of the convention, Pastor Jamal Bryant spoke to attendees about the importance of the Black press.
“I hope you realize what you do as publishers is a revolutionary act,” Bryant said.
Bryant told a story about his late grandfather being in a 1964 story in the Baltimore Afro-American and that story was framed in the late preacher’s home for the remainder of his life.
There has not been an announcement on where the 2026 NNPA Awards and convention will take place. The 2024 NNPA Awards and convention took place in Baltimore.