Ida B. Wells Society co-founder and award-winning journalist, Nikole Hannah-Jones, has been named one of the 100 most influential people of the year by Time Magazine.
This year’s list also included Naomi Osaka, Cathy Park Hong, Stacey Abrams and Joe Biden. The article on Hannah-Jones was written by film director and Oscar-winning writer, Barry Jenkins. Jenkins himself was included on the same list in 2017.
“The journalist from Waterloo, Iowa, contains multitudes. She is the most emphatic laugh, the consummate ally, the staunchest critic,” said Jenkins of Hannah-Jones.
Hannah-Jones has been a recent staple in the news for her work on The 1619 Project and its impact in schools and her tenure controversy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Aside from making headlines, it’s her impactful investigative journalism work and fearless pursuit of equity in the field that makes her such a force to be reckoned with. She uses her platform to not only speak up about injustices but to make sure she is offering a voice and opportunities to those who are most often overlooked. Her co-founding of The Society is just one example of that.
“The light Nikole wields is titanic, a blinding beam that illuminates and scorches. In her light, the wounds of America’s original and subsequent sins are laid bare,” wrote Jenkins. “With her light, the serrated flesh of this country’s past is both subject and predicate, a light wielded to both identify wounds and cauterize flesh.”
You can read the entirety of Jenkins’ piece on Hannah-Jones here.
