AAHGS | AAHGS SALUTES NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES

BABA GENE STEPHENSON – PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 2021

AAHGS SALUTES NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES UNC TENURE STATUS

WASHINGTON, D.C. The Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) salutes Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones on receiving tenure status at the University of North Carolina that AAHGS National President Baba Gene Stephenson said is a powerful affirmation of her heralded body of work and the significance of Afro American history and genealogy.

Hannah-Jones was set to begin her position as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism on July 1, after being awarded tenure by the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees.

Designated as the creator of The 1619 Project for the New York Times Magazine, which reframes the history of slavery in the United States and its role in democracy, Professor Hannah-Jones is a champion whose 1619 Project will reign as a landmark in the annals of Afro American genealogy and Pan African studies, said Stephenson. Her body of work in civil rights and investigative journalism reflects a uniquely talented journalist and educator, and her becoming tenured is a powerful affirmation.

The 1619 Project was first published in The New York Times Magazine in August 2019 for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the English colony of Virginia. It has become foundational in Afro American historical and genealogical research for those families with American origins in Virginia.

AAHGS strives to preserve African-ancestral family history, genealogy, and cultural diversity by teaching research techniques and disseminating information throughout the country in communities where AAHGS chapters exist, and globally through online virtual conferences and presentations.