The Bay Area Black Journalists Association will present its Eighth Annual Young Journalists Scholarship Gala, to be hosted by nationally-recognized financial journalist and former Bay Area TV anchor Valerie Coleman Morris this Saturday, Oct. 1 in downtown Oakland.  

During the year’s event, BABJA will honor Bay Area media professional and longtime BABJA member Ray Taliaferro with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Recently inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame, Taliaferro – a veteran radio host at KGO AM 810 – has touched many lives with his dedication to journalism and mentoring young and aspiring journalists.

The organization also annually awards two scholarships to deserving students. This year we will recognize:

• Ashley Hopkinson – Who will receive the Chauncey Wendell Bailey Jr. Scholarship. Hopkins is a journalism graduate student attending the University of California, Berkeley, and graduate of  Alabama’s Auburn University, where she earned her B.A. in Journalism. She has written for the Times Picayune in New Orleans, Richmond (CA) Confidential and the Montgomery Advertiser, to name a few.

• Malaika Kambon – Will receive the Luci S. Williams Houston Memorial Scholarship. Kambon is a photojournalist student attending San Francisco State University. She obtained her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from New College of California and works as a photographer for the SF BayView Newspaper and is owner of People’s EYE Photography.

For more information, visit babja.org.

If You Go

Who: BABJA has become the Bay Area's black media organization of choice with the objective to groom black media professionals for leadership; to enhance the coverage of issues of concern to African American people; and to work with Bay Area media in hiring and cultivating more responsible news coverage of communities of color BABJA exists to serve as an advocate and beneficial network of journalists, students and media related professionals.
   
When:  6 p.m. Reception; 7 p.m. to midnight Dinner and Awards Gala, Saturday, Oct. 1
 
Where: House of Music Oakland, 420 14th St., Oakland, CA

Why: The goal of this fundraiser is to raise awareness and money to support a variety of programs for minority journalism       students. To date, BABJA has awarded more than $20,000 in scholarships to help aspiring journalists reach their dreams.
 
Tickets: Gala 2011 tickets are $75 and can be purchased at babja.org.

More info: Email sfbabja@gmail.com or call (510) 467-0111