Nikole Hannah-Jones

Nikole Hannah-Jones is getting used to being a lightning rod, said Alexis Okeowo in Vanity Fair. Ever since she launched The 1619 Project, a New York Times Magazine series that put slavery at the center of America’s origin story, the Iowa-born journalist has faced relentless criticism. In early 2020, amid the pandemic lockdown, she obsessed over the social media blowback and began drinking too much. But she had supporters too. In May 2020, she won a Pulitzer Prize for the series’ lead essay.This July, she sidestepped controversy over one university appointment by accepting a prestigious post at Howard University. Along the way, she chose to shake off the negativity and pour her energy into ensuring that the book version of The 1619 Project, out now, would answer the criticisms. “I always feel like I have to defend myself,” she says, “even when I don’t have anything else to prove.”

Hannah-Jones has ample reason to believe that she’s had an impact, said LZ Granderson in the Los Angeles Times. “Who would think that a single work of journalism would become a Republican talking point, would be in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, would be named in legislation across the country?” she says. The 1619 Project is also being woven into school curriculums, and Hannah-Jones hears so much positive feedback that she’s excited to carry on. “What I’ve gone through with the attacks on my career, it’s not enjoyable. But it’s nothing, right? My life is great compared to so many people.” She, after all, has a platform. “In the end, I just believe so fervently that my work is right,” she says, “that I’m working towards justice.”