SEATTLE — The Seattle Times newsroom has received the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Leadership in Diversity Award for sparking conversations about race with their seminal “Under Our Skin” interactive video project.

This award honors an individual or corporation that has made strides in promoting and demonstrating diversity in the news media industry. The Leadership in Diversity Award winner is selected by the AAJA National Board and will be recognized at the AAJA National Convention Scholarship & Awards Gala Banquet

Project editorial team members Tyrone Beason and Audrey Carlsen accepted the award at in Philadelphia over the weekend.

“Our newsroom’s recent diversity efforts grew out of conversations about how we were covering race at a time when local and national events – the furor over police shootings, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and protests on college campuses – dominated headlines,” said the editorial team in a statement. “We spent hours building trust with some interviewees who didn’t think our paper – or the media in general – accurately portrays their lives.”

One of the most-visited places on seattletimes.com, “Under Our Skin” continues to incite discussion in local and national organizations – including the University of Washington football team, the Seattle office of the FBI and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

"It's an honor for the hard work of a few individuals in our newsroom to be awarded recognition at the national level,” said video editor Corinne Chin. “But receiving the AAJA Leadership in Diversity award is more than just rewarding – it renews the energy behind our work on the newsroom's Diversity and Inclusion task force and motivates us to press on."

AAJA, founded in 1981, is a membership nonprofit advancing diversity in newsrooms and ensuring fair and accurate coverage of communities of color.

The Seattle Times’ Publisher Frank Blethen won the award in 2014.

"Under Our Skin" editorial team members Tyrone Beason (left) and Audrey Carlsen (right) accept the 2017 AAJA Leadership in Diversity award. (Daniel Garcia/AAJA)