Date of Birth: April 9, 1976
Place of Birth: Waterloo, Iowa
Nikole Hannah-Jones (born April 9, 1976) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist renowned for her reporting on civil rights, racial injustice, systemic racism, school segregation, housing discrimination, and the legacy of slavery in the United States.
Early Life and Education
Hannah-Jones was born in Waterloo, Iowa, to Milton Hannah (Black/African-American) and Cheryl A. Novotny (white, of Czech and English descent). Raised Catholic, she attended predominantly white schools through a voluntary desegregation busing program. She graduated from Waterloo West High School in 1994, earned a B.A. in history and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame in 1998, and a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 2003. She received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Chicago State University in 2023.
Career Highlights
Hannah-Jones began her career in 2003 at the Raleigh News & Observer, covering education in predominantly African-American schools. She later worked at The Oregonian (2006–2012) and ProPublica before joining The New York Times as a staff writer in 2015. Her reporting has focused on redlining, enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, and persistent racial segregation in education and housing.
In 2017, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for her work chronicling racial segregation. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2020 for launching The 1619 Project, which reframes American history by placing the consequences of slavery and contributions of Black Americans at the center of the national narrative. The project expanded into a #1 New York Times bestselling book, the children’s book Born on the Water (also a bestseller), and a Hulu docuseries that won an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Series.
She serves as the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she founded the Center for Journalism and Democracy. She also co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting and established the 1619 Freedom School in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa.
Controversies
Her work on The 1619 Project has sparked significant debate among historians regarding interpretations of the American Revolution and other historical claims, resulting in clarifications by The New York Times. She has also faced political opposition related to academic appointments and public statements.
Official Website: nikolehannahjones.com
- X/Twitter: @nhannahjones
- Instagram: @nikolehannahjones
