/ GRIOT DRUM AWARDS
Griot Drum Awards
In West Africa, a griot is a member of a group of traveling poets, musicians or storytellers who maintain oral history.
With that in mind, the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists hosts an annual banquet called the Griot Drum Awards that includes a guest speaker, a local media awards competition and the awarding of scholarships to students pursuing journalism.
The awards ceremony has included renowned speakers, such as Jemele Hill, sports journalist, Eric Deggans, former TBABJ president and NPR TV critic, Leonard Pitts, columnist, Jarrett Hill, professor and journalist, Tiffany Greene, ESPN commentator, Kimberly Godwin, former ABC News president and Don Lemon, former CNN News anchor.
Featured Journalists
Keynote Speaker
TBABJ President
Mistress of Ceremony & TBABJ VP, Broadcast
KEVIN MERIDA BIO
Kevin Merida is an independent journalist, author and media leader. He is a contributing essayist for The Washington Post Opinions section, and a strategic advisor for the Academy Award-winning Breakwater Studios.
Merida is the former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times. Under his leadership, the news organization won four Pulitzer Prizes and its first Oscar for the documentary short film, “The Last Repair Shop.”
Before joining the Times in June 2021, Merida was a senior vice president at ESPN and editor in chief of The Undefeated (now Andscape), a multimedia platform that explores the intersections of race, sports, and culture. During his tenure at ESPN, he also oversaw the investigative/news enterprise unit, the shows “Outside the Lines” and “E60,” and chaired ESPN’s editorial board. While at ESPN, the journalism he helmed received three Sports Emmys.
Before joining ESPN, Merida spent 22 years at the Washington Post in a variety of reporting, writing and leadership roles including managing editor for news and features coverage. As managing editor, he helped lead the Post to four Pulitzer Prizes.
Merida is the co-author of “Kamala: Her Historic, Joyful and Auspicious Sprint to the White House,” “Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs,” and “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas.” He is a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, and a board member of the L.A. Local News Initiative, a new nonprofit organization aimed at strengthening and expanding local news in Los Angeles County.
SAUNDRA WEATHERS BIO
Saundra Weathers is a senior reporter at Spectrum Bay News 9 where she has worked for the last 12 years.
Saundra reports on a wide range of topics. She has a series dedicated to social justice stories called, Justice for All. With her reporting she’s able to amplify the issues in underserved communities and help communities find solutions.
She’s an award-winning journalist and her reporting has also led to changes in legislation.
Saundra is a proud graduate of Florida A&M University. She’s been fortunate enough to give back to the university that gave her so much. She volunteers at the university’s journalism workshops and writing bootcamps.
EMERALD MORROW BIO
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter and anchor at 10 Tampa Bay (WTSP-TV) where she has she has worked for ten years. Her stories focus on solving problems and elevating voices in from communities and people who feel unheard.
Her work has earned eight regional Emmy awards and multiple honors from the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters, Florida Society of Professional Journalists and the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists.
Other professional highlights include covering the Oscars, GRAMMYs and Fashion Week. Also a trained magazine journalist, her work has been published by The Associated Press, Black Enterprise and Black MBA magazine.
She attended Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism where she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
2025 Griots of Tampa Bay Honorees
Posthumous
FRED HEARNS BIO
Fred Hearns, born in the Bronx, N.Y., and rooted in Tampa, Fla., is a respected curator, historian, and community leader. A graduate of George S. Middleton High School, Hearns earned a B.A. in English and journalism from the University of South Florida, an M.S. in organizational management and leadership from Springfield College, and an M.A. in Africana studies from USF. His career began as a newspaper journalist for prominent publications, including the Florida Sentinel Bulletin and the Tampa Tribune. In 1975, he started a 32-year career with the City of Tampa Department of Community Affairs, culminating as its director in 2007. Since October 2021, Hearns has served as the curator of Black history at the Tampa Bay History Center, developing exhibits and programs for multiple sites, including the development of Tampa’s Black History Museum. He is deeply involved in community organizations, serving as the president of the Zion Cemetery Preservation and Maintenance Society and president emeritus of the Tampa Chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. A dedicated historian and member of the Pi Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Hearns resides in Tampa, Fla. He is a proud father, grandfather, and lifelong Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan.
GWENDOLYN HENDERSON BIO
SENATOR ARTHENIA L. JOYNER BIO
Senator Arthenia L. Joyner is a dynamic individual whose personal life reads like a chronicle of the struggle for equal justice. She has not just lived history, she made it. Senator Joyner is Of Counsel at Vanguard Attorneys in Tampa, FL, practicing in the area of personal injury. Born in Lakeland FL and reared in Tampa, she grew up in a time of segregation and has always been determined to end it. Senator Joyner began her long march for equality as a high school student in Tampa protesting for change as a participant in the Woolworth lunch counter sit ins. That journey took her to jail cells in Tallahassee during her undergraduate years at Florida A&M University when she was twice arrested for demonstrating against segregation and spent 14 days in the Leon County, FL jail. “The one thing that I remember most about being in jail was that FAMU sent the books for us to study, and the shadow from the sun on the bars would be reflected on the pages of the books”, Joyner stated. When president of the National Bar Association, she was arrested for protesting apartheid outside of the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Joyner entered politics in the early ‘70s when she chaired in Tampa the Shirley Chisholm’s presidential campaign, Jesse Jackson’s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns, and co-coordinator of Lawton Chiles’ 1990 gubernatorial campaign, and Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
A graduate of Florida A&M University College of Law, she was Florida’s fifth Black female lawyer, the first Black female lawyer in Hillsborough County, the first Black lawyer in Polk County and the first Black female lawyer in the Florida Senate. Upon graduation, she could not find anyone willing to hire a Black woman lawyer, so she hired herself, opening her own successful practice. Joyner has practiced law for fifty-six years, longer than any Black woman in the history of Florida. Joyner was the first Black female to serve on the board of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, first Black appointed by a Governor (Lawton Chiles) to the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, the first Black female to serve on the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Board, the first Black female State Representative and the first Black female State Senator elected from Hillsborough County and was a founding member of the Regional Economic Development Council now known as the Tampa Bay Partnership.
Joyner was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000 and the Florida Senate in 2006 serving six years and ten years respectively. In 2014, her colleagues elected her to serve as the first Black woman to lead the Senate Democratic Caucus. As a state lawmaker, she passed legislation requiring the state to compensate wrongfully incarcerated persons, the unshackling of pregnant female inmates when giving birth, requiring a study on Black-infant mortality, prohibiting the mutilation of female genitals, creating Florida’s first Human Trafficking Task Force and the Lead Poisoning Prevention, Screening and Education Act. She was also at the forefront of the drive to restore civil rights for ex-felons and assisted those needing help navigating the often-difficult process.
Senator Joyner is the recipient of numerous awards, including appointments by President Clinton to the U.S. Delegation to the International Population Conference in Cairo, Egypt (1994) and the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, China (1995), America’s 100 Most Influential Black Americans by Ebony Magazine (1985), America’s Top 100 Black Business and Professional Women by Dollars and Sense Magazine (1985). Other awards include the Hillsborough County Women’s Hall of Fame, Girl Scouts Hall of Fame, Inaugural inductee into the Florida A&M University Law School Hall of Fame, National Bar Association Hall of Fame; Honorary Doctor of Laws, Stetson University College of Law (1991); Hillsborough County Ellsworth Simmons Good Government Award, Bethune-Cookman University Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award; The Board of County Commissioners and the Tampa-Hillsborough Library Board in 2018 celebrated her many contributions to Florida and the community by naming its $9.3 million library in her honor; Leadership Florida’s Leroy Collins Lifetime Achievement Award; Florida Trend Magazine named her as one of their Top 500 influentials in Florida in the Legends category; The Tampa Bay History Center Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. History Award (2024); The USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy Lifetime Achievement Award (2024), Tampa Bay Suns FC Women’s Equality Honoree (2024), The Tampa Bay History Center Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. History Award (2024), Tampa Bay Lighting Puck Drop Honoree at the Black Heritage Celebration (2025), Tampa Bay Rays Honoree at the “Jackie Robinson Day”- First Ceremonial Pitch (2025), National Bar Association Presidential Award (2025), Florida A&M University Board of Trustees Leadership Award (2025), Spellman College Tampa Bay Area Alumnae Chapter Blanche Armwood Legacy Award (2025).
GWENDOLYN REESE BIO
Gwendolyn D. Reese is President and CEO of Peaten Reese Peaten Consulting, Inc. She currently serves as President of the African American Heritage Association of St. Petersburg, FL, Inc. and the Griot in Residence at the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. Reese assisted in curating the History Wall at the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg as well as narrating the virtual tour of the wall. Reese was a member of the research team commissioned to examine both the historical and modern-day impact of structural racism on the lives of Black people in the City of St. Petersburg and the Coordinator of the “Takin’ it to the Streets” the outreach, education and advocacy component of the structural racism study. In December 2021, she coordinated the Gas Plant-Laurel Park Neighborhood Reunion at Tropicana Field and most recently founded the Historic Gas Plant-Laurel Park Neighborhoods Preservation Society, Inc.
Reese is a graduate of Leadership St. Pete Class of 1991 and a charter member of the St. Petersburg Midtown Rotary.
In 2022 Reese was certified to be included in Marquis’s Who’s Who in America 2022-23 and in Marquis’s Professional Women in America. In 2021 Ms. Reese received the Key to the City of St. Petersburg from the Kriseman administration. In February 2018 she received the Peggy Peterman Award from the Legacy Group for her column which is dedicated to preserving and educating the community about the history of African Americans in St. Petersburg. The column appeared in the Weekly Challenger newspaper. In May 2018 she received the Founders Tribute award from the 2020 Plan.
In 2015, Ms. Reese was the recipient of the 2015 MLK Leadership Award presented by the National Council of Negro Women and was recognized by Congresswoman Kathy Castor for her more than 40 years of community activism and leadership. The Congressional Recognition included a U.S. flag which was flown over the United States Capitol on January 13, 2015, and a Statement for Congressional Record which was filed in the Library of Congress. In February, she was named one of the Pinellas County Urban League’s 2016 “Champions of Justice”.
SENATOR DARRYL E. ROUSON BIO
State Senator Darryl Ervin Rouson has earned a reputation as a trailblazer in his community. In 1981, he became the first African American prosecutor in Pinellas County. In 2003, he was appointed to the newly formed Substance Abuse and Addictions Task Force for the National Bar Association. Sen. Rouson also served as president of the St. Petersburg NAACP from 2000 to 2005. He was a commissioner on both the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission in 2007 and the Constitutional Revision Commission in 2017. In April 2008, his years of activism, bold leadership, and community service culminated in his election to the Florida House of Representatives, where he served for eight years.
In 2016, he was elected State Senator from District 19, which includes portions of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, and in 2022, he was elected to his final term in the Florida Senate to serve redistricted District 16. Since entering the Legislature, Sen. Rouson has been consistently recognized as one of Tampa Bay’s most influential politicians. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and previously chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2020 to 2022. Senator Rouson also serves as Chairman of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus.
During his service in the legislature, Senator Rouson has established himself as a legislative leader in behavioral health policy, with many of his bills focused on substance use disorder and mental health matters. In 2022, Sen. Rouson sponsored SB 282 to expand the use of peer specialists and promote access to quality behavioral health care. In 2024, he sponsored SB 1620 to implement recommendations from the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, on which he has served since 2021 after being appointed by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. In 2018, he toured the state visiting treatment facilities to share his personal story of recovery and to hear directly from Floridians in need of care. He celebrates 27 years of sobriety and clean time.
His work has earned numerous honors, including the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from Drug Free America Foundation and the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hillsborough County Democratic Party. In 2022, he received the Torchbearer Award from Live Tampa Bay for his leadership in the fight against the opioid crisis, a recognition given to others in his name.
Sen. Rouson earned his undergraduate degree from Xavier University in 1977 and a law degree from the University of Florida in 1980. He is married to Angela Rouson and has proudly raised five young men while practicing law with Rubenstein Law, a personal injury firm in Tampa Bay.
2025 Griots of Tampa Bay Honorees
University of Tampa
Florida A&M University
University of Florida
JAIDE EDWARDS
Jaide Edwards is a journalism major at the University of Tampa with minors in public relations and writing. Originally from New Jersey, she’s building a career in entertainment journalism, combining creativity, culture, and storytelling. Born with brachial plexus, a hidden disability that limited her physically, Edwards later found strength in pursuing a passion that truly speaks to her. Writing became her gift — one she intends to take far.
Her leadership journey began in 2023 as a writer and marketing team member for Her Campus UT. In 2025, she joined The Minaret as a student journalist, later becoming its arts & entertainment editor, while also freelancing for Secrets and Legacy Media. Recognized on the Dean’s List in Spring 2025, Edwards continues to grow as a dedicated and authentic voice in media.
MIKAL MORRIS
Mikal R. Morris is a rising leader and emerging voice in journalism and sports broadcasting. A first-year student at Florida A&M University (FAMU), he graduated from St. Petersburg Collegiate High School in May 2025 while simultaneously earning his associate degree from St. Petersburg College.
A dedicated scholar and community servant, Morris has volunteered over 300 hours of service and earned many honors this year, including the University of South Florida’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, Men in the Making “Youth of the Year”, and the National Achievers Society “Achiever of the Year”.
At FAMU, Morris serves as a reporter for FAMU-TV 20 and plays on the FAMU baseball team. His passion for sports and storytelling has led him from the mic as a public address announcer to co-hosting “Bump That Media” radio show as an intern with the Tampa-St. Pete Sports Connection. Most recently, he was selected as a Summer 2025 Broadcasting and Communications Intern with the Tampa Bay Rays, further cementing his path toward a career in sports media.
Guided by his favorite quote—“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard”—Morris continues to make his mark as a driven, service-minded communicator ready to inspire through journalism. Outside the newsroom, he’s all about family, fun, and a friendly game of bowling.
JASMINE OLIPHANT
Jasmine Oliphant is a senior at the University of Florida majoring in Journalism with a minor in Theatre. Her goals after graduation are to land an internship and gain more experience in her future career as an anchor. After news anchoring her biggest goal and dream is to be a talk show host. She has been published on WUFT’s radio station and WUFT’s electronic newspaper based in Gainesville FL as well as helping start up the new Podcast on WUFM, The Rundown, for school. When she is not in the Innovation News Center on campus she is not only working on her studies and attending classes but also being involved on campus.
Oliphant was Vice President and Secretary of the Gator Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalist, a Preview Staffer for the University of Florida helping 10,000+ new incoming students and families to the Swamp and a Peer Coach for the Office of academic Support for 2 years, where she mentored 20-30 students a year. She is now currently President of the Lambda Rho Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Incorporated, was the secretary previously, and the Marketing Director for the Leadership Development Institute under the Black Student Union that focuses on the professional development for 35 African American freshmen at UF. Her dedication to assisting and mentoring students on campus as well as leading her chapter to success is showcased through her involvement and the work she has done and is continuing to do.
She thanks the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalist for the awarded scholarship to help her successfully graduate from the University of Florida in Spring 2026.
TELEVISION
Best General News Reporting: Linnie Supall, WFLA News Channel 8
Best Feature Reporting: Virginia Johnson, Spectrum Bay News 9
Best Feature Reporting: Ken Cherry, WEDU
Best Investigative Reporting: Emerald Morrow, 10 Tampa Bay
Best General News Reporting: Stephanie Claytor, The Florida Courier
Best Feature Reporting: Stephanie Claytor, The Florida Courier
PHOTOGRAPHY
Best Overall Photo: Joseph Brown III, WFLA News Channel 8
RADIO
Best General News Reporting: Chris Young, WMNF
Best Feature Reporting: Chris Young, WMNF
DIGITAL/ONLINE ONLY
Best Podcast: Rooted in Progress, WFLA News Channel 8
2025 Professional Award Winners
2025 Gold Sponsors
2025 Silver Sponsor
In-Kind Sponsor
About the Griot Drum Professional Media Awards
Entries are no longer being accepted for the TBABJ 2025 Griot Drum Awards
The contest is open to print, broadcast, and online media professionals of all ethnicities. Journalists submitting entries do not have to be a member of TBABJ, a local chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).
Any individual or news organization in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties can enter materials published, broadcast, or presented online between Jan. 1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024.
The deadline to submit entries is 11:59 p.m., Monday, September 29th. All entries must be submitted online. Entries are no longer being accepted.
Award winners will be presented during the program on November 13th.
Steps to Apply
There are just three steps to completing your submission:
1. Please complete the form below for each entry. Be sure to select the category name and number along with the title of your entry. If you have a link to your story or project you may submit it in the field provided on the form. Information on this form will be used to label the winning award.
2. Provide a link to the original source of publication for validation. Work published between Jan. 1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024 are eligible. Also provide a link to the work uploaded to file sharing platform like Vimeo, Dropbox or YouTube without the need to login to view.
3. The last step is to pay entry fees. Submissions will not be accepted without payment of associated entry fees.
Entry Categories
TELEVISION
TV-1 General News Reporting (Single Story): Submit a story about a news event or issue impacting the local Black community.
TV-2 Feature Reporting (Single Story): Submit a story about a feature topic. Subjects may include, but are not limited to, personality profiles, sidebars, consumer information, historical perspectives or reviews of cultural events.
TV-3 Investigative Reporting: Submit a story for excellence in a single report focused on a problem in the community requiring research and investigative journalism
P-1 General News Reporting: Submit a story about a news event or issue.
P-2 Feature Reporting: Any news feature, profile, review or analytical piece on a specific topic or issue, including arts and entertainment.
P-3 Investigative Reporting: For excellence in a single report focused on a problem in the community requiring research and investigative journalism
RADIO
R-1 General News Reporting (Single Story): Submit a story or series about a news event or issue.
R-2 Feature Reporting: Submit a story or series about a feature topic. Subjects may include, but are not limited to, personality profiles, sidebars, consumer information, historical perspectives or reviews of cultural events.
PHOTOGRAPHY
PH-1 Best Overall Photo: Any news or feature photo, either with a story or stand-alone image.
PH-2 Best Overall Video: Any news, feature or Nat Sound package that best covers the Black community.
DIGITAL/ONLINE ONLY
MM-1 Best Online Story (Single Story): Any online only series, story or blog that features a significant amount of material relating to issues concerning people of color. The entry will be judged on information, quality, immediacy, style and impact.
MM-2 Best digital video (Single Story): Any online only video that features a significant amount of material relating to issues concerning the local Black community. The entry will be judged on information, quality, immediacy, style and impact.
MM-3 Best Podcast (Single Story): Commentary and discussion on any topic relating to the local Black community.
Media Awards Entry Form
*The entry period for the 2025 Griot Drum Awards has closed.*
Awards Ceremony Tickets
Tickets for the Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Ceremony are now available!
Join the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists for our annual Griot Drum Awards & Scholarship Ceremony on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 6 p.m.
Hosted by WTSP 10 Tampa Bay news anchor and investigative reporter Emerald Morrow, the event is a celebration of excellence in local media, education, culture and community.
This year’s program will include:
- A cocktail reception at the Le Méridien grand staircase
- Dinner and networking with Tampa Bay’s media and community leaders
- Awards program honoring outstanding journalists for their coverage of local Black communities
- Scholarship presentations to the next generation of storytellers
- Special recognition of Tampa Bay’s legendary Griots: Fred Hearns, Gwen Henderson (posthumously), Senator Arthenia L. Joyner, Gwendolyn Reese, and Senator Darryl Rouson
- A silent auction full of unique items and experiences
We are pleased to bring journalist, author and media leader Kevin Merida to deliver an inspiring keynote for the evening. Merida is a contributing essayist for The Washington Post and former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times.
Grab your tickets or tables and make plans to join us for an awesome night of celebration! A cash bar will be available.
