Some quick lessons I re-learned from Nikole Hannah-Jones recent announcement.
Nikole Hannah-Jones has officially accepted an offer to begin working at Howard University! She will be the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Reporting where she will be “creating a new initiative aimed at training aspiring journalists to cover the crisis of our democracy and bolstering journalism programs at historically Black colleges and universities across the country”, according to Nikole’s statement via the NAACP LDF. This news comes after her alma mater University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill denied her tenure, after then voted to grant her Tenure.
As this news began to make its rounds, many people began to praise Hannah-Jones for her boss move and letting her know how important this decision is for HBCUs and black journalists. With that, here are a few lessons that people can take away from Nikole’s decision to accept the position at Howard University!
1.) Your talent will make room for you, every time!
Let’s be clear, UNC fumbled bigtime with this one! Anyone that knows anything about Nikole, they know that she is brilliant. UNC was aware of this, but allowed factors outside of her talents and contributions cause them to lose her as a faculty member. Nikole prepared for her placement and did everything she was supposed to do, only to be denied her spot. Nikole knows she is the prize and moved through this process as classy as possible. She refused to accept anything less than she deserved and kept her talents central to the conversation. UNC will have to learn the hard way this time. Too bad for them!
2.) It’s vital to know when it’s time to move on!
Far too often, black women feel pressure to remain “loyal” to people, institutions and employers that mistreat them. We are encouraged to see the good in everything, recall the amount of time we have invested in something, or continue to believe that we can alter/change the environment and how we are treated . The effort and energy you invest in something is valid, and the reality is we have to learn to leave when to leave. The work it takes to make change from the inside is something that those entities must recognize and address. We do not have to deal with abuse, pain and mistreatment. We must be loyal to ourselves FIRST. We don’t owe these people, institutions or employers ANYTHING!
3.) When given the opportunity, our institutions can thrive!
As a Howard girl myself, I know first hand how vital it is for HBCUs like Howard University to have access to funds and black scholars like Nikole. These kinds of appointments are what attracts students and supporters to Howard in the first place. Also, this opportunity will also add Howard Alum Ta-Nehisi Coates, create a Center for Journalism and Democracy and bring in even more money for the Cathy Hughes School of Communications. Imagine the kind of research, lecture topics, and talent that will come out of this news?
Additionally, many black scholars may have a desire to teach at HBCUs but the lack of funding may hinder the talent recruitment. This is a model on how scholars, foundations and HBCUs can work together to create innovative ways to provide students with top tier faculty. This can also be a structure that HBCUs can model for other departments like Black Women’s Studies.
Nikole Hannah-Jones just embodies what it means for your talents to make room for you, knowing when it’s time to give us and the importance of taking a chance on black institutions. I look forward to seeing the amazing work that will come out of this news! #HU!!! You Know!!!
