Photo by Nikole Hannah-Jones via Instagram.
By Sonja D. Gracy
According to statistics cited in the 2017 Neiman article "Where Are The Mothers?" only 38% of news employees at daily newspapers were women. In 2019, only 7.5% of journalists identified as African American or Black. With such a slim representation of Black journalists across the country, it is important to highlight accomplished Black women journalists who are also dedicated mothers.
With news outlet visibility and the number of journalists of color across the country scarce, it is only fitting to herald seismic, cross-generation Black woman journalists who not only hold it down on the job but do it dedicatedly as doting moms.
Writer Sonja D. Gracy recently got the opportunity to glean insights on the pleasures and privileges of Black motherhood from the acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of "The 1619 Project" Nikole Hannah-Jones. Readers already know Hannah-Jones' prowess as a formidable, speaking truth-to-power historian-writer. They may not know how endearing and lively a hope-filled mother she is.
"What I love about being a mom is the time I get to spend with my daughter, watching her develop and grow and mature," says Hannah-Jones.
Her 14-year-old daughter reminds her of herself as a child – "silly, funny, and ambitious. She is deeply empathetic and compassionate, but also stubborn and independent." Like her mother, the daughter is self-motivated academically, but as Hannah-Jones laments, "Unfortunately, she isn't an avid reader like I was growing up, but she has recently fallen in love with writing."
Despite being a phenomenally cataclysmic civil rights leader and an intellectually evocative, courageous Black woman who speaks truth to power, Hannah-Jones is biracial. Her mother, Cheryl Novotny Hannah, is of Czechoslovakian and English heritage.
"My dad always made it clear to us that our mother was white, but that we were Black, so my racial identity has always been clear to me," says Hannah-Jones. "But I certainly received my strong sense of social justice and an obligation to community from my mom. My mom always encouraged my inquiry and gave me the space to develop my identity as a Black woman."
Hannah-Jones describes her mother as "funny with a big sense of humor. She is one of the most selfless people I know and has sacrificed a lot for her family...I often hear my friends talk about how their moms are critical or meddling, but my mom has never been like that. Her only expectation and desire for me is that I am happy."
She adds, "My mom's greatest impact on my parenting style was that she was slow to anger, always generous, and more than anything else, kind. I try to model her patience and kindness in treating a child like a human and not an object of control, in raising my own child."
Hannah-Jones' groundbreaking work on "The 1619 Project" faced immense opposition, including from President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order establishing the "President's Advisory 1776 Commission" to promote "patriotic education." Senate Republicans also introduced the "Saving American History Act" to halt teaching the project in public schools.
During it all, Hannah-Jones aimed to protect her daughter: "I did not talk to my daughter a lot about what happened. Like most mothers, I try to protect my daughter from the uglier parts of the world and did not want her to worry about me."
However, her daughter sometimes saw the stress, prompting honest discussions. "I believe in being honest and treating children with respect, so when she would ask, I would tell her the truth about what was happening, but also assure her that I was strong and could handle what was coming my way, and that I had an obligation to fight for our people."
Hannah-Jones finds inspiration in enslaved Black mothers' legacy, who "fiercely loved their children" despite immense adversity. "We love our children so fiercely because we know how precarious that relationship has been, that it was not ever a given that we could keep our children -- then or now -- and the world does not see the full humanity of our children, so we must imbue them with enough overwhelming love to be a shield."
Mother and daughter share simple joys: "We love to watch horror movies, to shop, to go on walks together, cook breakfast, and to wrestle."
Hannah-Jones beams, "My daughter makes the best scrambled eggs and she always insists I make her my unparalleled cheese grits." Although her daughter hasn't inherited her passion for history yet, preferring "math and science -- the opposite of me", Hannah-Jones is excited to see her "make her own way". Above all, "My dreams for my daughter are simple -- I just want her to be happy, healthy, and to do something meaningful with her life.".
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