Where Do We Go From Here? Addressing Past and Present Racism in Public Education and Beyond: A Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones
By Julita Bailey-Vasco
Join Nellie Mae for the next event in our #EdEquityTalks series! We are excited to host Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project, staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she is founding the Center for Journalism & Democracy, and co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting.
At Nellie Mae, we know that all students deserve to attend schools where they feel safe, supported, and respected. They are worthy of attending schools that affirm their identities and provide them with a high-quality and culturally responsive education that allows them to thrive. This is often not the reality, especially for Black, Latine, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian American young people. We are living in a world where there is legislation prohibiting that truth be taught in schools, and where young people learning about the accurate founding of this nation as it relates to slavery, white supremacy, and oppression is considered a divisive topic; where do we go from here? What lessons can we take from history and apply to today’s socio-political climate? We hope you join us as we collectively explore these topics.
Speakers
DR. GISLAINE N. NGOUNOU is the interim president and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. She has worked at multiple levels of the education sector including nonprofits, schools, and school districts. Before joining the Foundation, she served as the Chief Program Officer for Phi Delta Kappa International, a professional organization for educators. In this role, she designed and led programs that supported school district leaders, provided leadership coaching around issues of equity and social justice, and created and facilitated a community of practice that allowed system-level leaders in districts from across the country to learn from one another. These days, she is also currently learning how to rest and cultivate unapologetic joy.
NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. The book version of The 1619 Project was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Hannah-Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius Grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards, and the National Magazine Award three times. She also serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she is founding the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Hannah-Jones is also the co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, which seeks to increase the number of investigative reporters and editors of color. Hannah-Jones holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her BA in History and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame.