1619 Project founder and New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and her daughter Najya revisited their disagreement over Hannah-Jones' decision to send Najya to predominantly Black public schools, a choice Hannah-Jones now says she regrets aspects of, in a recent episode of "This American Life."Both Hannah-Jones and her 16-year-old daughter appeared on the podcast, where Najya expressed her thoughts about her mother's viral New York Times Magazine essay, in which Hannah-Jones revisited her decision to choose her daughter's school in an effort to challenge school segregation.Though Najya told the podcas that she had never read her mother's original essay, she called out her mother's reasoning for sending her to what she considered a lesser-quality school.KAROL MARKOWICZ: 1619 PROJECT FOUNDER NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES LEARNED THE HARD TRUTH ABOUT SCHOOLS1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote in a New York Times Magazine essay that she regretted aspects of her decision to send her daughter to predominantly Black public schools as part of an effort to challenge school segregation.(Jeff Scheart/MSNBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)"I didn't ever agree with her response," Najya said.
"All I know is that I wasn't having it.I was just like, ‘why? Why am I here?’"Najya was later allowed to choose her own high school, which was majority White and Asian.
While she described the students as "too bougie" with "high egos," she struggled academically at first, and her parents arranged tutoring and other support as she caught up with her classmates.During the podcast, Hannah-Jones and her daughter revisited their argument as Najya questioned why her education had to be sacrificed because other Black children were suffering."What do we then do? Do we just say, well, there's nothing I can do? Or do you try in some way to make some intervention? It's like, why should my child be the one that's rescued? You should escape what we consign so many other kids just like you...