@mosheh: Writer Nikole Hannah-Jones’s 16-year-old daughter is speaking out about her mom’s decision to send her to low-income, struggling schools. Hannah-Jones, who is Black, described it as an “obligation to be part of the struggle of our larger community.” “There’s no benefit that came out of you putting me in those schools. No benefit at all," Najya said on the @thisamerlife podcast with her mom. Hannah-Jones has been a New York Times reporter since 2015, focusing much of her career on race, segregation and education. She won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for her work on the 1619 Project, which sought to center slavery and the contributions of Black Americans in the country’s founding story. It has drawn criticism from some historians over several of its claims. Earlier this month, Hannah-Jones published a viral article for @nytmag titled, 'In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?' In it, she reflected on her choice to send her only daughter to struggling, predominantly Black elementary and middle schools in Brooklyn, despite having the means to choose otherwise. Hannah-Jones first wrote about that decision a decade ago, making her daughter, in her words, “a symbol of how the choices we make can help sustain — or dismantle — educational inequality.” Proponents, including Hannah-Jones, argue that bringing more affluent students and parents into high-poverty schools can lift the entire school, while those families can afford extra support if their children fall behind. Critics say Hannah-Jones had treated her daughter like an “experiment.” Najya echoed those concerns in the conversation with her mom: "It's not fair... I didn't ask to be born," she said. "All you're supposed to do is just put me in a good school... Isn't that what you want me to have? Hannah-Jones wrote that Najya repeatedly asked to switch schools. She eventually chose her own high school, where she struggled to catch up academically and fit in socially.

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Tuesday 29 September 2026 23:26:01 GMT