by M. Anthony Davis

After his coverage of protests against police brutality this summer, Omari Salisbury has become one of the most prominent names in local media. Salisbury, along with the media company he founded, Converge Media, has been thrust into local and national attention for being on the front lines of protest and for streaming powerful images of tear gas and civil unrest directly into living rooms and on to the devices of spectators and concerned citizens in our region and across the country. 

But, Salisbury is more than a “citizen journalist,” as he’s often referred to in media reports. He is more than just a guy with a red iPhone streaming live protest footage to thousands of viewers — which, in and of itself, is arguably a major achievement. Salisbury is an accomplished journalist with a career that spans decades. That career started at Garfield High School writing for the school paper and eventually led to him working in media across the globe.