AAJA Goes to Detroit in 2011

Nov. 19, 2008

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The Asian American Journalists Association is pleased to announce the selection of the Michigan chapter as the host for the organization's 2011 national convention. The convention will be held in Detroit on August 10-13, 2011, at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. This will be the first time that Detroit will host an AAJA convention.

With an illustrative history that boasts the seed of soul music (Motown), an amazing collection of architecture from days of old, and an arsenal of stories based on social justice and democracy, Detroit still seems to be a road less traveled. However, a lot of American cultural icons and events continue to stem from this town which has exfoliated its grim past of violence and industrial smokestacks and has evolved into a city that sports a rare vintage charm and a thriving arts and film industry.

Diversity is a way of life in Detroit with immigrant populations having flocked to the city since the 19th century consisting of an amalgamation of ethnic groups from Hmong to Hungarian, Nigerian to Nicaraguan, Iraqi to Italian. According to The Detroit Almanac, an estimated 300,000 Arab Americans reside in metro Detroit with southeast Michigan as the home to the largest and most influential Arabic-speaking population in North America.

AAJA welcomes the Michigan Chapter as it places its footprint on the timeline of AAJA conventions and marks the organization's 30th anniversary.

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"The Michigan chapter is thrilled the board selected Detroit as the city for its 2011 national convention. It is a special honor for us because, not only will 2011 be the first time AAJA holds its convention in Michigan, but it will be the 30th anniversary of AAJA and the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The convention will give AAJA's members a chance to visit America's heartland. It will introduce them to the diversity of the region--including the nation's largest concentration of Arab Americans and others of Middle Eastern descent, people who have made Michigan their home. And it will help remind others of the powerful impact journalists make and the challenges Asian Americans still face, especially when it comes to civil rights and social justice."
~Frank Witsil, AAJA/Michigan National Board Representative

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"AAJA Michigan is so thrilled that the governing board chose Detroit as the host city for the 2011 convention. We have a wide team of people who have worked to support our bid, and we know that we will give some people some terrific surprises when they visit us.

Detroit is so much more than what people initially perceive. We are a city of grit and charm that loves to welcome people and help them get to know us. We are the home of Motown, of the American automobile and of championship sports teams. We are a city with a downtown on the comeback, one which in the past year has seen the opening of a new RiverWalk, several new hotels and two resort casinos.

We are the city where, in the wake of Vincent Chin's murder, an Asian American movement began. We are the American city with the highest concentration of Arab Americans, a community that has collaborated with our chapter to bring the 2011 convention to Detroit. We are proud of the Arab Americans who make up AAJA's Michigan chapter, and we know that with AAJA's convention in Detroit, bonds with the Arab American community can only be strengthened.

We are also a city that reflects the real economic, social and racial struggles Americans nationwide face, a city that is looking to new technology to wean away our dependence on a manufacturing economy based solely on autos -- even as we journalists look toward the most effective use of social networking and new technologies.

We are a city that continues to evolve, a state where Asian Americans are the fastest-growing minority group and an increasing political and social influence, and where AAJAers will both benefit from what they can learn and make an enormous impact by coming here for the 2011 convention.

So welcome, AAJAers, and thank you for deciding to come to Detroit. We will surprise you."

Erin Chan Ding
Features Staff Writer
Detroit Free Press