By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

An annual highlight of the conference was the 2020 NNPA Publisher Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to The Dallas Examiner’s distinguished publisher, Mollie Finch Belt (Pictured are Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Melanie Belt, Mollie Finch Belt, James Belt III, and Karen Carter Richards, NNPA Chair and publisher of the Houston Forward Times).

At a lively, entertaining, and emotional ceremony, Mollie Belt of the Dallas Examiner received the NNPA 2020 Publisher Lifetime Achievement Award.

Held at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina on Friday, January 24, the awards ceremony was arguably one of the most enthusiastic and captivating in recent NNPA history.

Dillard High School students who are in the Broward County Color Guard opened the evening by marching into the hotel’s Grand Ballroom in full regalia, leading the large crowd in a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

But the night belonged to Belt, who took over the Examiner after the tragic murders of her parents more than three decades ago.

“This is such an honor,” Belt stated as she was accompanied on stage by her son, James Belt III, and daughter, Dr. Melanie Belt.

“I’ve received many awards, but there’s nothing like receiving an award from your peers. The Black Press means a lot, and I want to say thank you,” Belt stated.

A native of Dallas, Belt attended Spelman College and the University of Denver, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She performed graduate work at Tulane University, and, in 1965, Belt began work at the Texas Employment Commission in Harlingen as an employment counselor.

She worked as manager of the City of Dallas Title VI Program for a year and then Belt was employed for 21 years as Branch Chief of Investigations in the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Belt retired from government services in 1999 to devote her full attention to the Dallas Examiner.

The newspaper has won numerous awards spanning 26 years including, NNPA’s Publisher of the Year, the National Association of Black Journalists 2016 Salute to Excellence Award for best feature series, and the Texas NAACP Hero Award.

“This award means a lot to us,” James Belt III stated. “My mother is a pillar of the community, and what she does with the newspaper is very important to all of us,” Belt III stated. He then addressed his mother with a personal message: “I appreciate you, I love you and, I’m very proud that you have received this award,” Belt III said.

The newspaper and the NNPA means a lot to Mollie Belt, Dr. Belt stated.

“She does so much for the Black Press and the African American community nationally and in Dallas,” Dr. Belt said.

“To be recognized for that is great. She gives 100 percent to her family and to her newspaper and the various boards she’s worked on,” Dr. Belt stated.

Stacy M. Brown

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