Source: Creative Services / iOne Digital
Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Nikole was the lead on the magazines “1619 Project,” a program organized by The New York Times with the goal of re-examining the legacy of slavery in the United States, timed with the 400th anniversary of the arrival in America of the first enslaved people from West Africa. Prior to forming the 11619 project, Nikole co-founded The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, named after the groundbreaking journalist. Nikole also previously wrote for ProPublica where she extensively covered the way policies systemically impact segregation in housing and schools. Nikole resides in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Hometown: Waterloo, IA
Three adjectives to describe yourself: Passionate, Truth-teller, Rigorous
MN: Who has been the most influential person in your life that inspired you to begin the path that you’re on today?
MN: As a Black woman/Black femme, we are rarely allowed to take up space. What are the ways in which you find yourself purposefully doing just that?
NHJ: I create journalism that unapologetically speaks to the black experience. I refuse to wear the uniform of mainstream journalism – My hair is big and red, my nails long and blinged-out, hoop earrings dangling. I want little Black girls and younger Black women to see that they do not have to compromise themselves to rise to the top of their fields.
MN: How have you had to work to deconstruct or break down any anti-Blackness that we’ve been taught to harbor?
MN: What advice would you give to your 13-year-old self?
NHJ: Embrace your nerdy self because it will pay off, and dream much bigger than you allowed yourself to.
MN: What is your biggest dream for Black women/Black femmes everywhere?
NHJ: That this country will one day stop treating us as the mules of the world, but as the solution.
