Skip to Main Content

The Common Reader Project 2020/21: About Nikole Hannah-Jones

About Nikole Hannah-Jones

Photo by James Estrin for The New York Times

"Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and creator of the landmark 1619 Project.

The New York Times's 1619 Project commemorates the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in what would become the United States by examining slavery's modern legacy and reframing the way we understand this history and the contributions of black Americans to the nation. Nikole's lead essay, "Our Democracy's founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true," was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize.

Nikole also has written extensively about school resegregation across the country and chronicled the decades-long failure of the federal government to enforce the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act.

In 2016, Nikole Hannah-Jones co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, a training and mentorship organization dedicated to increasing the ranks of investigative reporters of color."

- from the editor's website: https://nikolehannahjones.com/

Interviews and Articles

"Reframing the Legacy of Slavery with The 1619 Project" (Interview)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (February 2020)

"Nikole Hannah-Jones Made Black History With The 1619 Project, And She's Not Done Yet" (Interview)
Essence Magazine (February 2020)

"Telling The Sweep of 400 Years" by Emily Palmer, The New York Times (June 2020)

"Amherst Conversations: A Conversation With Nikole Hannah-Jones" (Interview)
Amherst College (July 2020)