The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 10 OCTOBER 2019 | Page 7
WHAT’S REALLY GOOD?
WATERLOO, IA - Hearing noted New York Times
investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones
deliver UNI’s Constitution Day Address on Monday,
September 16 was a revelation. She spoke openly
and honestly on the topic “Separate and Unequal”
at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center,
laying bare many truths about America’s historic
disregard for the role slavery played in this
nation’s development — information that many
of us either did not know or were not comfortable
acknowledging. Hannah-Jones talked about her
thought-provoking initiative, The 1619 Project,
which presents an honest and more inclusive
narrative of American history.
Supported by facts and research, Hannah-Jones
traces a time line that reveals brutality and human
rights violations that have plagued this country since
before its inception. She asserts that revealing and
acknowledging what has been omitted from our
history will help address the inequity that prevents
this nation from living up to its ideals. It was a
pleasure listening to the clear connections she made
between past inequity and present injustice as she
engaged the capacity audience.
It was even more pleasant meeting her at
an informal gathering the evening before her
UNI presentation and seeing that, while she is
accomplished, nationally-recognized, and — yes,
famous — she is also a woman of the people.
Surrounded by classmates and friends with
whom she’d grown up in Waterloo, she was in her
element sharing food, drinks, laughter, and the
trash-talking that accompanied a friendly game
of spades. In that setting, she wasn’t the famous
writer who describes herself as “the Beyonce of
journalism” and who has appeared on several
nationally-syndicated shows including CBS This
Morning, The Breakfast Club, and VICE; she
was just Nikole. Graciously, she even stepped
away from her limited relaxation time to do a brief
interview with me and Joshalyn Johnson for the
“Ms. Rocki n Chaveevah LIVE!” show.
More than her numerous awards including
the MacArthur Foundation ‘Genius Award’, it is
the content and straightforwardness of her work
that garners respect. As a reporter with the New
York Times, her investigative writing has focused
on racism and racial injustice and in the tradition
of Ida B. Wells, Hannah-Jones’ work compels
society to look at things it has grown accustomed
to ignoring. Her journalistic achievements are
notable in a society that marginalizes Black
people in general and Black women in particular.
Nikole co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for
Investigative Reporting, with the idea of training
and mentoring other Black women in the field of
investigative journalism.
The 1619 Project is outstanding, as it not only
commemorates the 400 years since slavery began
in this country; it also provides an unflinching,
realistic look at our history rather than an idealized
version that conceals far more than it reveals.
The 1619 Project may be accessed at the New
York Times website. Also, a 1619 Project podcast
series and 1619 Project curriculum are available
online for educators and anyone else interested in
challenging, reshaping and broadening our view
of history and African Americans’ contributions to
this society.
I am Chaveevah Ferguson, I thank Nikole
Hannah-Jones for having SOUL! ,
CHAVEEVAH
FERGUSON
What’s Really Good?
_______________
Learn more about Chaveevah Ferguson
at http://www.thesoultown.com/
what-s-really-good-.html
Email Me: [email protected]
Oct. 2019 • The Soultown International Magazine • Celebrating 2 years • Connecting Our Cultures to Our Cyber & Conscious Communities • thesoultown.com
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