• by Tony Silber , February 24, 2022

Capital B, the brand-new nonprofit news organization headed by Black journalists, today rolled out a two-day virtual event called “The Power of Black Stories,” a series of conversations covering policy, health, entertainment and more. 

Among the guests are the movie mogul Tyler Perry, the activist Alicia Garza, the writer, producer and actor Diallo Riddle, the founder of the book club Well-Read Black Girl, Glory Edim, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and more.

Gillian White, Capital B senior vice president of revenue and programming, welcomed the brand’s audience to the conference. “Events are a way for our community to engage with our journalists, guests, and experts in a different capacity,” she said in a press release.

"Capital B Live is an important part of our strategic plan," noted the organization's Co-Founder and CEO Lauren Williams, “Our events will bring the stories from Capital B’s journalists to life. [Our] core topics, sensibilities, and journalistic excellence will be mirrored on virtual and in-person stages.”

The event is sponsored by Reebok. You can register here.

On the first day, today, the theme is the ways that sharing Black stories can ignite real change, from BLM to housing policy, vaccine hesitancy, and more. The second day features those who are centering Blackness and Black storytelling in the mainstream: journalists, writers, and people in the entertainment business.

Capital B, launched last month, is a Black-led nonprofit local and national news organization for Black audiences. It was started by Williams, a former senior vice president and editor in chief at Vox, and Chief Audience Officer Akoto Ofori-Atta, formerly managing editor of The Trace.

The site has a nationally focused hub as well as its first local-news site in Atlanta. Funding comes from a mix of philanthropic revenue -- foundation grants, individual gifts, corporate donations, and individual contributions through a membership program -- as well as corporate underwriting of journalism on and off-platform.

Its editorial-independence policy includes this statement: “Capital B retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.”

The organization’s staff reads like a who’s who among Black journalists.