Alyssa Wilson ~ Assistant Editor
As part of the Rosel Schewel Lecture Series, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist will be visiting the University of Lynchburg at 7 p.m. on March 24, 2022.
The lecture will be held in Turner Gymnasium under the theme, “Truth, History and the 1619 Project.”
Hannah-Jones is the creator of “The 1619 Project” and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. “The 1619 Project” was launched in 2019 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of slavery in America. It is a collective history of African-American culture in America. This project comprises a variety of essays, poems and pictures that discuss the ensalvement of Africans and its ensuing impact of shaping the cultural and economic identity of the United States.
Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, Dr. Robert Canida commented, “It has been said that ‘history is not written by the victors, but by those who are skilled at documentation.’ I am elated that we will have the award winning investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones on campus. She has documented the history and experiences of the enslaved Africans, who were involuntarily brought to Indigenous land by European colonizers.”
Hannah-Jones is a very accomplished journalist with a MacArthur Fellowship award earned for her reporting on racial injustice. She also holds the John Chancellor Award for Distinguished Journalism and was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists and the Newswomen’s Club of New York.
Canida also noted, “ If we as the academy are to be truly diligent about education, then we have the moral and ethical responsibility to allow the ‘truth’ to be told. So having her share her research will allow us to hear another narrative.”
Theo Veal, senior at the University said, “It’s important that within American history that we acknowledge the contributions that Black Americans have made to this country, some of those contributions came about by forced labor. Our music, our clothes, our slang, our hair, and our knowledge are signified acts of liberation against white supremacy.”
Veal continued, “Having Nikole Hannah-Jones coming to speak at our school is not only inspiration to me about the importance of holding our country accountable for the horrors of chattel slavery, but letting my ancestors know that I will always fight for them and learn the truth about our history when white America only wishes us to forget.”
Canida hopes that during and after Hannah-Jones’ lecture, attendees, especially his Race and Ethnicity student scholars will gain a better understanding of the America they live in.
As ideas around critical race theory continue to be divisive issues not only in Virginia but nationally, Dean Caifano, deputy director of Campus Safety and Security said, “ We have no intelligence which would indicate the planned presence of protestors; nonetheless, we are staffed accordingly to deal with any hecklers.”
A Q&A will be held following the lecture that will be open to all ticket holders.
Canida said, “I’m looking forward to Hannah-Jones challenging the Academy to do a better job of teaching the truth, the whole rainbow truth!”
