Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones to speak at 32nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation
Loyola University Maryland will welcome award-winning investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones for the 32nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Convocation on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in McGuire Hall. The event, which is also part of the Bunting Peace and Justice Speaker Series, is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed. Advance registration is encouraged for in-person and virtual attendance.
Titled “In Conversation about Truth, History, and The 1619 Project,” the talk will be moderated by Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Ph.D., founding executive director of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social Justice and professor of communication and African and African American studies, and David Carey, Ph.D., Doehler Chair and professor of history.
“We are honored to have Nikole Hannah-Jones join us for this year’s 32nd Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation,” said Rodney L. Parker, Ph.D., chief equity and inclusion officer. “As we reflect on Dr. King's legacy of justice and equality, we are reminded of the power of truth in shaping a more equitable future. With her 1619 Project, Hannah-Jones challenges us to confront the full history of our nation and offers a powerful lens through which we can deepen our understanding of systemic injustices. As we grapple with Loyola’s history, I find it befitting to have her inspire critical conversations about race, history, and the ongoing pursuit of freedom for all.”
Hannah-Jones covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Her work on The 1619 Project earned her a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2020. The project is an ongoing initiative that began in August 2019—the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery—which “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”
“The Office of Peace and Justice is committed to having ongoing conversations about racial justice and repair, especially in the context of Loyola University Maryland’s historical ties to slavery,” said Heidi Shaker, Ph.D., director of the Office of Peace and Justice and associate professor of French. “We are honored to have Nikole Hannah-Jones come to campus to help facilitate the work being done and cast a vision for the future.”
Hannah-Jones’ reporting has also earned her a MacArthur Fellowship, known as the “Genius Grant;” the Knight Award for Public Service; the Peabody Award; two George Polk awards; the National Magazine Award three times; and an Emmy. She is a Society of American Historians Fellow and a member of the Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Prior to joining The New York Times, Hannah-Jones worked as an investigative reporter for ProPublica, an “independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force,” as well as for The Oregonian in Portland, Oregon, and The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In addition to her reporting, Hannah-Jones is the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she is the founding director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy. She holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame.