Nikole Hannah-Jones Finally Given Tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill

Nikole Hannah-Jones is an investigative journalist, who received her B.A. from the University of Notre  Dame and M.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is known for her work on civil rights and racial inequalities and has won numerous awards over the years. She became a staff writer in  2015 for The New York Times. In 2019, Hannah-Jones developed a project to re-examine the legacy of slavery in the U.S., titled The 1619 Project. In short, the project looks at American history through the lens of slavery and challenged the notion that the history of the United States began in 1776 against the arrival of the first slaves to Virginia in 1619. The project employed a panel of historians and had the support of the Smithsonian, for fact-checking and research and was first published in The New York  Times Magazine. It consisted of 100 pages with ten essays, a photo essay, and a collection of poems and fiction by 16 writers, who were mostly African-American.  

While Hannah-Jones received the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her introductory essay on the project, it has faced much criticism and debate from historians and political commentators. Five historians wrote to The New York Times Magazine to ask the creators of The 1619 Project to issue corrections, accusing the project of putting ideology before historical understanding. The editor of The  New York Times Magazine defended the accuracy of the work and declined to issue corrections.  However, in 2019, The Times issued a clarification, modifying two of its passages. Additionally,  Republican state lawmakers from several states have introduced bills targeting the project from being taught in schools.  

Earlier this year, UNC-Chapel Hill announced that Hannah-Jones would join the university’s Hussman  School of Journalism and Media as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. For decades,  this position came with a lifetime professorship. Initially, Hannah-Jones agreed to a five-year contract.  However, after learning the position would not come with tenure, she refused to accept, stating that was unacceptable. She discovered that the school’s top donor, Walter Hussman, who the journalism school is named after and who was known for opposing The 1619 Project, reached out to several key officials, expressing his disagreement with her appointment. There was swift backlash both locally and nationally in protest against the university’s refusal to grant tenure and Hannah-Jones was considering filing a discrimination suit.  

The university’s failure to grant tenure has garnered much attention and lots of support for Hannah-Jones. In May of this year, 1,619 UNC students and alumni took out a two-page advertisement in The  Raleigh News & Observer that called for her to be given tenure. The ad listed the names and graduation years of all 1,619 people. On June 30th, it was reported that close to 80 students showed up at the board of trustee’s meeting and some took issue with the fact that the board lacked diversity and mainly consisted of white men. After a three-hour meeting with the trustees, the board voted 9-4 to grant her tenure. Hannah-Jones thanked everyone that supported her and stated that she needed time to process all that occurred and determine what is the best way forward.  

A few days ago, following the board’s vote, reporter Lena Tillett of local news station WRAL 5, hosted a 20-minute conversation with UNC-Chapel Hill’s Faculty Chair, Prof. Mimi Chapman, UNC History  Professor, Prof. William Sturkey, and Vice-chair of the UNC Black Student Movement, Julia Clark. The first part of the conversation was centered around the controversy over Hannah-Jones’ tenure, while the second half was centered around the ongoing systemic racial issues with UNC’s black faculty and students. Professor Chapman was asked about her feelings regarding several black professors publicly stating they do not feel supported at the university. Professor Chapman stated there have been a series of high-profile incidents that have occurred at UNC-Chapel Hill, going back to Silent Sam and she understands that those events have been very traumatizing to her black colleagues and students. She said incidents like this really set them back. Julia Clark stated that although her major isn’t in journalism,  she still felt compelled to get involved. Clark felt that it was a blatant attack against black lives and black women. She stated that this is not an isolated incident, but merely an example of the pattern of disrespect and dehumanization against black people. She recalled an incident that happened there and stated the black students do not feel safe. She made it known that the Black Student Movement has presented a list of 13 demands to the Chancellor and they hope that he will take action. Professor William  Sturkey agreed that UNC has had several incidents on campus, including people with confederate flags carrying guns, shaking hands with campus police, but wasn’t arrested, but at the same time, unarmed black students protesting were harassed and treated roughly. He said that sends a message that blackness is under-valued on their campus. He said they have a lot of work to do and they need to see some real resources and real changes being made.  

I have followed this story for a while now and the total joy that I should feel, I don’t. It leaves somewhat of a bad taste in my mouth and I can only imagine how it feels for Ms. Hannah-Jones. While I’m glad UNC  finally decided to grant her tenure, it should have never been in question in the first place. Not with all the impressive work, she’s done and the many accolades she’s accumulated over the years. It is so sad that we’re still having to fight this battle. The fight that our ancestors fought and the fight that the civil rights movement fought. One thing is very clear, there’s still so much work to do and regardless of how hard they try, our past cannot and will not be erased. At this present time, Nikole Hannah-Jones has not decided whether she will accept the position.

~Janet Downs~

Janet Downs is an instructor with over 20 years of experience, having worked with Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations. She volunteers and is a resource for the homeless community and is working towards starting her own non-profit. She’s passionate about mental health and seeks to bring more awareness to the black community. She is active in church ministry, a writer, and loves music, hiking, and travel.