'I am obligated to fight back against a wave of anti-democratic suppression that seeks to ... silence Black voices and chill free speech,' the journalist said.
,” said she is considering legal action against the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill after she wasn’t offered tenure for her new position with the school.
“I had no desire to bring turmoil or a political firestorm to the university that I love, but I am obligated to fight back against a wave of anti-democratic suppression that seeks to prohibit the free exchange of ideas, silence Black voices and chill free speech,” Hannah-Jones said in a statement Friday.
UNC announced in April that the prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist would join the university’s Hussman journalism school as the Knight chair in race and investigative journalism, a position held by someone recognized as a highly respected news leader who bringsHannah-Jones previously created the “1619 Project,” which examined anti-Black racism and the legacy of slavery in America today. She is also the co-founder of the Ida B.
Despite the prestigious appointment, the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees did not offer her a tenured position.“This failure is especially disheartening because it occurred despite the support for Hannah-Jones’s appointment as a full professor with tenure by the Hussman Dean, Hussman faculty, and university,” read a statement from 40 members of the Hussman School’s faculty released last week.
The faculty also pointed out that two previous Knight chairs received tenure upon their appointments.