Equity Lab: Nikole Hannah-Jones and HBCUs for the win
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It’s Wednesday, July 07, 2021
Hey everyone! It’s Marcus D. Smith here, the Black Communities Reporter for The Equity Lab.
I want to put my two cents in on a couple of things that have made headlines over the past couple days.
You see, I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I find myself asking what the hell is going on in this country at least five times a day.
First, can we give a a standing ovation to award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones for her decision to shade her alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hannah-Jones was denied a tenure position to become the Knight Chair of journalism at the university. Once the power of the people influenced the media, UNC had a change of heart. They offered her a tenure position to teach journalism at the university.
Instead, Hannah-Jones decided to join the faculty at Howard University.
This job is a tenured position, and she was named the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism, where she will also create the Center for Journalism and Democracy. The objective is to train aspiring journalists to develop investigative skills, research and analytical knowledge to report on what’s going on in the country.
HBCUs for the win again.
I love seeing more and more of our people choose HBCUs. She mentioned it in an interview with MSNBC, but I’ll bring it up again: Many of the figures who have changed the landscape of the country were products of HBCUs, especially during the Civil Rights era.
HBCUs are responsible for many Black professionals in today’s workforce in America, including myself. Shout out Texas Southern University. Third Ward, stand up!
Rachel Nichols, sit down. Full timeout.
At least, that’s what ESPN told the host of the NBA program, The Jump, after audio was leaked to The New York Times during which Nichols pretty much accused ESPN of pandering to the Black Lives Matter movement when they considered removing her from her sideline reporting job during the NBA Finals. Nichols is white. They were going to replace her with Maria Taylor, who is Black.
“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said, according to The Times report. “If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
If one only knew the Black experience, they would know that for decades we have been overlooked, passed over, denied from job opportunities that were given to other candidates because those candidates were white.
It sucks. Period. To know you’re completely qualified for a position and that someone else can just waltz in and get it because they “fit the description” they are looking to magnify.
We’ve been through it. So this news is more of a moment to rejoice. As far as the comments made by Nichols, they’re disappointing. They do seem more targeted at ESPN than at Taylor.
Is it right? No.
Does it happen? All the time.
ESPN replaced Nichols this year with another rising journalist, Malika Andrews. Yes, she’s Black. Andrews will be conducting the sideline reporting duties for the 2021 NBA Finals.
There’s actually plenty of other things that have occurred this week, or in the past couple of days, but I would need to start a blog to cover all of that.
If you really want to have a conversation, hit me on Twitter!
Here’s what else you need to know this week:
Must-Read Stories
INTRODUCING ‘LA ABEJA’: A NEW WEEKLY LATINO ISSUES NEWSLETTER FOR CALIFORNIA
Latinos became the largest ethnic group in the Golden State seven years ago. Today, California is home to nearly 14 million Latinos — 39% of the state population. Yet for too long legacy media has not done its due diligence in covering the complexity of California’s Latino communities. Enter La Abeja, a new newsletter written by and for Latinos. The Bee’s Kim Bojórquez, with the Fresno Bee’s Nadia Lopez and Modesto Bee’s Andrea Briseño, will be leading the newsletter, which will drop every Wednesday.
MILLIONS GRANTED TO SACRAMENTO FIRE DEPARTMENT TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AFTER RACISM ALLEGATIONS
The Sacramento City Council signed off on a $2.2 million budget allocation toward the Fire Department’s goal of diversifying its ranks. The move comes after the department was slammed with allegations of racism, hazing and harassment in March that led to an employee’s resignation.
HOW BAD IS THE AIR QUALITY IN SACRAMENTO’S UNDERSERVED NEIGHBORHOODS?
It’s well documented that air quality is worse in poor neighborhoods and communities of color across California and the United States, but until now, that trend was hard to determine in Sacramento. That’s changing: More than 20 rooftop solar-powered air quality monitors have been installed across North Sacramento and Oak Park, allowing residents to see what pollution levels are like in real-time.
More Interesting Reads
FROM THE BEE:
How one local Latino-owned business stayed afloat despite losing 97% of her revenue the week shutdowns were announced. Wildfires are basically everywhere in California now, because it’s always fire season. A museum at UC Davis, where it costs more than $37,000 to attend for a year, has reopened with an exhibit titled “Education Should Be Free” and the irony is not subtle. You and 350,000 other Californians might be eligible for $100 of unemployment per week. “The beaver on land is like a chicken nugget walking through the landscape for predators.”
FROM THE INTERNET:
The definitive assessment of Britney Spears’s “conservatorship nightmare,” from The New Yorker. All the right words on climate have already been said, from Nieman Lab. You’re not hallucinating, all your pantry favorites are shrinking (remember this epic “Conan” interview?) Survivors of the Surfside condo collapse in Miami are mourning their neighbors, and demanding answers. Ten years later, an ex-newspaper reporter remembers when one of the deadliest tornadoes in history ripped through his town, and what was left behind. The subversive joy of Lil Nas X’s gay pop stardom.
What we’re watching (and you should, too!)
It’s that time of the year. I’m obviously watching the NBA Finals this year. I’m not as invested as I was last year because, well, my Lakers aren’t in the championship round, so that kind of sucks.
However, it’s still an interesting matchup. The Milwaukee Bucks have a superstar named Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is in pursuit of his first championship. He isn’t the only one.
There’s also Chris Paul, a 16-year NBA veteran. He’s known as the “Point God” because he is a wizard with the ball and his playmaking skills are comparable to the greatest point guards of all time. Yes, put him in the same category as Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Magic Johnson, Steve Nash, or Jason Kidd.
He’s leading the young Phoenix Suns team in pursuit of its first championship. The last time the Suns even made it this far, Charles Barkley was an NBA MVP, and I wasn’t even born yet.
Milwaukee on the other hand hasn’t won a championship since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was Lew Alcindor. My mom was a baby then. So if you actually saw the Bucks last championship, much respect to you.
Game 1 was Tuesday and the Suns really came out and made a statement on their home floor led by Paul, who scored 32 points and added nine assists en route to a 118-105 victory. Devin Booker of the Suns chipped in with 27 points.
Game 2 is on Thursday and Game 3 is Sunday.
I have my prediction for the Suns to win it all, but don’t count out Milwaukee so soon. I’m hoping it will be a competitive finals either way.
I’m a little biased in rooting for the Suns because the inner-child in me wants to see Chris Paul win a championship. I saw him drafted in 2005. He gave a city hope when he turned the New Orleans franchise around in the midst of recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Although I’m still hurt by the vetoed trade to the Lakers, he went to the Clippers and turned them into a contender. He then traveled to H-town and became a game within the NBA Finals before getting injured.
He took an OKC team that was given a 0.2% chance to make the playoffs in 2020. They became the fifth seed in the West. This year he has the team, he has his health, there’s virtually nothing that can keep him from obtaining his goal.
As a fan, it would be great to see the best point guard of this modern era win a championship.
Where to find us
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Thank you for reading, and we will see you again next week!
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This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 1:00 PM.
