Five Takeaways From Nikole Hannah-Jones’s Essay on the ‘Colorblindness’ Trap
How a 50-year campaign has undermined the progress of the civil rights movement.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a domestic correspondent for The New York Times Magazine focusing on racial injustice.
In 2020, she won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary for her essay in The 1619 Project, which traces the central role Black Americans have played in building the nation, including its vast material success and democracy itself.
Ms. Hannah-Jones’ reporting on racial segregation and inequality in print, audio and film has also earned her the MacArthur grant, three National Magazine Awards, two George Polk Awards, a Peabody and recently, an Emmy for the 1619 Project docuseries on Hulu. In February, Ms. Hannah-Jones was named one of 16 George Polk career laureates.
Ms. Hannah-Jones earned her bachelor’s in history and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame and her master’s in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, housed at Morehouse College. She is also the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she founded the Center for Journalism & Democracy.
Ms. Hannah-Jones lives in Brooklyn with her husband and very sassy daughter.
Latest
TimesVideoNikole Hannah-Jones on Her Essay
In a new essay, Nikole Hannah-Jones argues that the fall of affirmative action is part of a 50-year campaign to roll back racial progress.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones, Claire Hogan and Gabriel Blanco
The ‘Colorblindness’ Trap: How a Civil Rights Ideal Got Hijacked
The fall of affirmative action is part of a 50-year campaign to roll back racial progress.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones
Picture BooksNikole Hannah-Jones Reviews Two Picture Books About American History
In separate works, Tami Charles and Kwame Alexander tell a story not of Black America but of America, of a history we all must own.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones
NonfictionA Landmark Reckoning With America’s Racial Past and Present
Originally published as a series in The New York Times Magazine and now revised and expanded as a book, “The 1619 Project,” edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein, undertakes an ambitious examination of slavery and its ongoing legacy for Black Americans.
By Adam Hochschild
From the Magazine: ‘It Is Time for Reparations’
Nikole Hannah-Jones explains the history of economic injustice and argues that if black lives are to truly matter in America, the nation must finally pay its debts.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones
For Families Already Stretched to the Limit, the Pandemic Is a Disaster
The Sydnor-Joneses had finally moved into an actual home by scrimping and saving. But the pandemic has stymied their resourcefulness.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones
As School Moves Online, Many Students Stay Logged Out
Teachers at some schools across the country report that fewer than half of their students are participating in online learning.
By Dana Goldstein, Adam Popescu and Nikole Hannah-Jones
America Wasn’t a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One
Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written. For generations, black Americans have fought to make them true.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones
News AnalysisIt Was Never About Busing
Court-ordered desegregation worked. But white racism made it hard to accept.
By Nikole Hannah-Jones
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