Dana James to headline Greenlee Black History Month Celebration

The Greenlee School’s Public Relations Student Society of America club will host its second annual Black History Month Celebration Tuesday night, Feb. 25, in the Memorial Union’s Campanile Room. The event will run from 6-8 p.m. and features award-winning writer and journalist Dana James as the special guest.

James, a native of Des Moines, founded Black Iowa News in 2020 and the Black Iowa Newspaper in 2023. Her work focuses on the experience of Black Iowans as a way to “amplify their voices,” according to James.

“I started the newsletter … because I was worried that the Black community in Iowa was not getting information it needed to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic,” James has been quoted as saying. She added, “My past career experiences have coalesced to get me to where I am now, in terms of having been a newspaper reporter for seven years, writing, having a fellowship where I wrote about governmental commissions and things like that.”

The public event kicks off with a meet-and-greet and free food, followed by a Black History Trivia contest. James will conduct a reading of one of her works and participate in a question-and-answer session hosted by journalism student Cleah Phillips, a diversity reporter with the Iowa State Daily and a board member of the school’s emerging student chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Music for the event will be supplied by deejays from Iowa State’s student-run radio station – KURE 88.5 FM Ames Alternative.

The event is co-sponsored by Greenlee’s Student Media Leadership Team which is advised by Assistant Teaching Professor Tony Moton.

“I’m excited about this event because it really brings together students with professional aspirations and professionals who know what it takes to get there,” Moton said. “Last year’s guest at this event, Jay Stahl (of USA Today and formerly the Des Moines Register), got this tradition started with a powerhouse appearance. I expect no less from Dana James this year.”

James earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Grand View University. She serves as secretary of the Iowa Association of Black Journalists.