Williamena Kwapo | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones brought wit, insight, and humor to the Oak Park Speaker Series.
The June 13 event at the Guild Theater was moderated by OBSERVER Publisher Larry Lee and Maisha T. Winn, chancellor’s leadership professor and co-director of Transformative Justice in Education Center, and focused on Hannah-Jones’ groundbreaking book, “The 1619 Project.”
First published as a special edition of the New York Times Magazine in August 2019, “The 1619 Project” sets out to reframe American history by placing slavery and its lasting impact at the forefront. It starts by centering those believed to be the first enslaved Africans who landed in the United States in 1619 and how their arrival led to chattel slavery and America’s origin.
Anticipation and excitement were palpable as fans, educators, historians, and attendees of all ages packed the sold-out venue, eager to hear from a voice that has sparked national conversation. With Juneteenth just around the corner, a celebration of African American emancipation that resonated deeply with the themes of Hannah-Jones’ work, the event had extra layers of significance and meaning.
Hannah-Jones spoke with The OBSERVER about her goal of writing the book, the importance of cultivating future Black journalists, and the role of Black Press in telling a complete narrative.
“To me, the ultimate goal of the project has always been reparations,” Hannah-Jones said. “I see the project as trying to help provide documentary evidence and narrative for that. If we can see this work helping to propel the work of so many activists on behalf of reparations, it would be amazing.”
She went on to highlight the critical importance of education in understanding and addressing racial and social justice, praising educators and historians for bringing these vital stories to the forefront. She encouraged a deep commitment to engaging with this history not as a distant past, but as a living, breathing part of American identity to truly understand the racial and social issues facing America today.
“What makes you a great writer on race and social justice is to get an expertise in it. I’m good at what I do because I study the hell out of it,” she said. “I read voraciously – books on Black history, books on American history, sociological studies, and research. So it’s having that expertise, not just the lived experience, that will help you to do the type of journalism on race that we should aspire to.”
Hannah-Jones is also committed to teaching the next generation of Black journalists through her work at the Center for Journalism and Democracy at Howard University, a passion that was ignited after her tenure position was withheld by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After learning that a white male alumnus donated $25 million to interfere in her tenure process at UNC Chapel Hill, she said she raised $25 million to start the center at the prominent historically Black university.
“It really was an opportunity for me to bring a lot of resources to institutions that have never gotten their fair share, and to give those students the type of training that will allow them to go out and do the reporting that our democracy needs,” she said.
During the speaker series, the conversation took a deeply personal turn as Hannah-Jones talked about the decision to include her family in the making of the project’s accompanying documentary.
“As journalists, we’re used to trying to convince other people to tell us their personal stories, but we don’t necessarily expose our own family to that,” she said. “They were just so honored that anybody would want to hear their stories, and that they could use their experiences to kind of reflect on the larger black American experience.”
Hannah-Jones left attendees with a renewed understanding of the role journalism plays in telling a complete story, a deeper appreciation for the importance of education and narrative in the fight for racial justice and, for some, a signed copy of “The 1619 Project.”
