Mary Mitchell, other Sun-Times staffers honored by National Association of Black Journalists

Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell won two honors Saturday from the National Association of Black Journalists on a night the organization also recognized the work of five other Sun-Times staff members.

Mitchell was inducted into the NABJ Hall of Fame, lauded for having “worked tirelessly to fight discrimination, combat domestic violence and hold politicians accountable.”

“Mitchell’s reporting often rallied African American readers to empower their communities by giving the voiceless a platform to address social ills,” the citation honoring her work over her career said, “from failing schools to abusive police, disparities in the criminal justice system to corrupt government officials.”

The winners of the NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards — which recognize “journalism that best covers the Black experience or addresses issues affecting the worldwide Black community” — also included these Sun-Times reports:

• “Rev. Leon Finney Jr.’s free fall,” written by Carlos Ballesteros, Tom Schuba, Jon Seidel and Rachel Hinton and published Sept. 8, 2019 — in the category best news-single story — revealing how the real estate empire of the politically powerful community leader was teetering on the brink of collapse.

• “Why tearing down Englewood to save it hasn’t worked,” written by Manny Ramos and published Aug. 25, 2019 — for best business reporting. Ramos examined how Englewood and neighboring West Englewood have seen more vacant properties demolished since 2008 than almost anywhere else in Chicago yet have had little new development, leaving vast expanses of land still vacant.

The NABJ also recognized, as finalists for the Salute to Excellence Awards, work by Sun-Times staffers Maudlyne Ihejirika, in the commentary category, for three “Chicago Chronicles” columns; Ashlee Rezin Garcia and Lauren FitzPatrick for videography for the May 3, 2019, report “A town’s pride” on then-newly elected Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Ohio roots; and Michael O’Brien, for best sports, for the April 13, 2019, report “This story needs a happy ending” on Marquise Walker, a basketball-obsessed Chicago kid who didn’t grow up to be the NBA star his father pushed him to become.