My stories honored with RNA Award for Religion Reporting Excellence

The Religion News Association has announced the winners of the 2022 Awards for Religion Reporting Excellence.

I am honored to be among the recipients. I won second place for reporting at magazines and non-daily newspapers. Winners were recognized Wednesday night in a ceremony at Columbia Journalism School in New York City.

My portfolio features these stories from the 2021 contest period:

• “At Tulsa massacre’s centennial, two Oklahoma churches focus on racial unity”  from Tulsa, Okla., with related story “Christian faith drives two leading advocates of Tulsa Race Massacre justice” from Tulsa, Okla.

At Tulsa massacre’s centennial, two Oklahoma churches focus on racial unity

My story from Broken Arrow https://t.co/sJoCJE1aGJ

— Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) May 29, 2021

• “In Canada, a reckoning after remains of 215 Indigenous children are found.” 

“I’m ashamed of all the racism and genocide that we concocted and that we did it in the name of Jesus. That’s just unbelievable to me.” https://t.co/mYkRGr8PjV via @cofcnews

— Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) June 9, 2021

• “Saints and singers.”

So apparently, Dolly Parton is popular.

This story is approaching 100,000 pageviews, which is a lot for us.

Click now to help Dolly reach an important milestone for our web traffic.https://t.co/5DnS24qyZc

— Bobby Ross Jr. (@bobbyross) April 8, 2021

Also, the judges cited my piece “In city where George Floyd died, minister emerges as key champion for justice” from Minneapolis with related story “A tragic death, a tough dialogue” from Woodbury, Minn.

This is my fifth time to win an RNA award. I previously was recognized in 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2021. I have been a finalist four other times with The Christian Chronicle and twice with The Associated Press.