Tennessee Voices, Episode 260: LeBron Hill, columnist and curator of Black TN Voices

Since he arrived to work on the USA TODAY Network's opinion and engagement team in 2019, LeBron Hill has grown and refined his voice as a journalist.

A Lipscomb University graduate, Hill's lived experiences as someone who confronted homelessness and who grew up with a biracial background influenced his desire to write boldly about race and racism.

He has called on all his readers to think and act — whether it was with his powerful column "Stop telling Black people they are overthinking racism," written shortly after the murder of George Floyd, or the question he asked in the headline of his most-read column of 2021: "Will Nashville finally learn to reckon with racism after Morgan Wallen's slur?"

LeBron Hill
LeBron Hill

When The Tennessean launched the Black Tennessee Voices campaign in 2020, Hill took the reins as curator of its Facebook group and weekly newsletter, which have both grown steadily since.

On this episode of the Tennessee Voices podcast, Hill and I talked about his origin story, his passion for seeking equity and his approach to journalism.

His work has been recognized statewide by a first-place award from the Tennessee Press Association and a feature in Editor & Publisher magazine.

Column by LeBron Hill: How Americans are tarnishing Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy for their self interest | Hill

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About Tennessee Voices

The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.

Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.

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Watch past episodes: Tennessee Voices videocast

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Amplifying Black residents' voices with LeBron Hill