Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones Takes Job at Howard University after Tenure Fight
2021-07-07
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1Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, decided on Tuesday she would not accept a position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) but, rather, would continue her career by accepting a position at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
2Howard University is a private, historically black university in the nation's capital.
3Hannah-Jones and her supporters fought hard to get a tenured professorship at UNC.
4Tenure is a life-time appointment for a professor.
5The university first denied tenure for Hannah-Jones, saying it was concerned about her ideas and her teaching ability.
6Black students, Black professors and other professionals questioned the university's opinion and its commitment to free speech and diversity.
7Hannah-Jones developed The 1619 Project for The New York Times.
8The collection of stories looked at the history of the United States starting with the arrival of enslaved people.
9It centers on the economic and social effects of the free labor provided by the enslaved people.
10The idea of examining history in this way is controversial in many states.
11Some public school teachers in states controlled by Republican leaders are not allowed to teach about the project in their classes.
12Last week, after weeks of criticism and days of protests from students, the university finally decided to offer Hannah-Jones a life-long position at its journalism school.
13On Tuesday, Hannah-Jones said she could not accept work at the university's journalism school, which is named after Walter Hussman.
14Hussman is a wealthy Arkansas newspaper publisher who gave $25 million to UNC.
15He also campaigned against giving Hannah-Jones tenure.
16"I cannot imagine working at ... a school named for a man who lobbied against me," Hannah-Jones wrote.
17She added that Hussman "ignored" her years of work and her credentials because he believed The 1619 Project was about "the denigration of White Americans."
18She also wrote that she could not work at a university whose leadership "permitted this conduct and has done nothing to disavow it."
19Hannah-Jones is not the only well-known Black writer to receive a position at Howard University on Tuesday.
20Howard also employed Ta-Nehesi Coates.
21Coates writes about the struggles of Black people in America.
22His 2015 book Between the World and Me won a National Book Award.
23United States Vice-President Kamala Harris attended Howard University in the 1980s.
24It is one of several historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S.
25They are schools founded to support the education of Black people at a time when many universities did not accept Black students.
26I'm Anna Mateo.
1Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, decided on Tuesday she would not accept a position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) but, rather, would continue her career by accepting a position at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Howard University is a private, historically black university in the nation's capital. 2Hannah-Jones and her supporters fought hard to get a tenured professorship at UNC. Tenure is a life-time appointment for a professor. The university first denied tenure for Hannah-Jones, saying it was concerned about her ideas and her teaching ability. Black students, Black professors and other professionals questioned the university's opinion and its commitment to free speech and diversity. 3Hannah-Jones developed The 1619 Project for The New York Times. The collection of stories looked at the history of the United States starting with the arrival of enslaved people. It centers on the economic and social effects of the free labor provided by the enslaved people. 4The idea of examining history in this way is controversial in many states. Some public school teachers in states controlled by Republican leaders are not allowed to teach about the project in their classes. 5Last week, after weeks of criticism and days of protests from students, the university finally decided to offer Hannah-Jones a life-long position at its journalism school. 6On Tuesday, Hannah-Jones said she could not accept work at the university's journalism school, which is named after Walter Hussman. 7Hussman is a wealthy Arkansas newspaper publisher who gave $25 million to UNC. He also campaigned against giving Hannah-Jones tenure. 8"I cannot imagine working at ... a school named for a man who lobbied against me," Hannah-Jones wrote. 9She added that Hussman "ignored" her years of work and her credentials because he believed The 1619 Project was about "the denigration of White Americans." 10She also wrote that she could not work at a university whose leadership "permitted this conduct and has done nothing to disavow it." 11Hannah-Jones is not the only well-known Black writer to receive a position at Howard University on Tuesday. Howard also employed Ta-Nehesi Coates. Coates writes about the struggles of Black people in America. His 2015 book Between the World and Me won a National Book Award. 12United States Vice-President Kamala Harris attended Howard University in the 1980s. It is one of several historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S. They are schools founded to support the education of Black people at a time when many universities did not accept Black students. 13I'm Anna Mateo. 14Tom Foreman, Jr. wrote this story for the Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Susan Shand was the editor. 15How do you think Hannah-Jones will do working in Washington, D.C.? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 16________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18diversity - n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization 19controversial - adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument : likely to produce controversy 20lobby - v. to try to get something you want by talking to the people who make decisions 21credential - n. a quality, skill, or experience that makes a person suited to do a job 22denigration - n. the act of saying something critical or unfair 23conduct - n. the way that something is managed or directed 24disavow - v. to say you are not responsible for an action or behavior