Deliberate Freelancer

The Center for Independent Journalists, aka The CIJ, is a new organization—launched in September 2021—to provide advocacy, education and support to freelance journalists of color and those from other underrepresented groups in the media. Programming is open to anyone, and white journalists can also join the organization.   It’s open to all freelance journalists, not only writers. Currently, membership for the first year is included when you register for The CIJ’s March 11–12 virtual conference. The CIJ has received grants to support the organization and continues to explore other revenue models that won’t require higher registration fees.   CIJ Co-founder Katherine Reynolds Lewis lives in the DC area and is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about education, equity, mental health, parenting, science and social justice for publications including The Atlantic, The New York Times, Parents and The Washington Post. Katherine’s 2015 story on the school-to-prison pipeline became Mother Jones’ most-rea