Pulitzer winner, '1619 Project' creator Nikole Hannah-Jones to speak at Iowa State
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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Iowa native Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of “The 1619 Project,” will speak at Stephens Auditorium at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Hannah-Jones will appear for the Iowa State University annual 2022 Manatt-Phelps Lecture in Political Science. "A Conversation About the 1619 Project” is free and open to the public.
Hannah-Jones was named to Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2021, which is just one of the accolades she has earned in recent years.
Last year, the Des Moines Public Library Foundation selected Hannah-Jones as the 2021 Iowa Author Award recipient, joining the ranks of luminaries such as John Irving, Bill Bryson and Jane Smiley.
Her book, “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story,” and its children’s book companion, “The 1619 Project: Born on the Water,” were released in 2021.
Hannah-Jones’ “The 1619 Project” was first published in The New York Times magazine in 2019. It marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first known enslaved Africans in what would become the United States.
It includes more than 30 individual works made up of audio, essays, poems, graphics and visual art pieces that reframe the legacy of slavery in contemporary American life, arguing that Black Americans are a foundation of U.S. democracy.
After its publication, “The 1619 Project” became the focus of political and social culture wars and a discussion point for conservative pundits.
During the Iowa legislative session, Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Orange City, introduced a bill to ban teaching the curriculum that grew out of the 1619 Project. Though the bill never came up for a committee vote, Hannah-Jones called its introduction “disheartening.”
More:Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Waterloo native, wins 2021 Iowa Authors Award
A graduate of Waterloo West High School, Hannah-Jones has launched a free, community-based after-school literacy program for students in Waterloo.
The 1619 Freedom School helps students improve literacy skills and develop a passion for reading through "liberating instruction centered on Black American history," its mission says.
Hannah-Jones previously told the Des Moines Register she had been wanting to start a literacy program, and also was looking for a way to give back to her hometown.
In 2018, 24/7 Wall Street named Waterloo, the city with the highest concentration of Black Iowans, the worst city for Black Americans based on unemployment, income disparities, homeownership and high school graduation rates. Additionally, Black students in the Waterloo School District, which make up 26% of the district, are, on average, 2.2 grades behind their white peers, according to data by ProPublica.
Wednesday’s program at Stephens Auditorium will feature a question-and-answer session conducted by moderators with pre-submitted questions. Questions must be emailed to lectures@iastate.edu by noon on Wednesday to be considered. Questions submitted by Iowa State students will be given priority, and there is no guarantee that time will allow for all submitted questions.
Doors open at 5 p.m. The first 11 rows will be reserved for Iowa State students until 5:40 p.m. Students should have their student ID and enter through the southeast or southwest tower doors. The general public can enter through the north doors.
No bags will be permitted. Small bags for medical supplies and diaper bags will be permitted but will be searched before entry, according to a news release. No picket signs, banners or other materials that could block views or be used as a weapon will be permitted.
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at rlawless@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: 'The 1619 Project' creator Nikole Hannah-Jones to speak in Ames, Iowa
