Nikole Hannah-Jones laments 'pretty brutal' response to viral essay on sending daughter to public school
New York Times journalist and 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones reflected Wednesday on what she called the "pretty brutal" responses she received for her viral New York Times Magazine essay on sending her daughter to predominantly Black public schools.A decade after defending her choice, Hannah-Jones admitted in an essay last month that she regretted aspects of her decision to send her now-16-year-old daughter to these schools in an effort to combat school segregation, after her child informed Hannah-Jones that she did not receive the education she wanted."Now I felt overcome with regret.Najya deserved better," Hannah-Jones wrote in her September essay.
"They all did.But she was mine.
This girl, my only child, looked to me to protect her, to give her what she needed to thrive.And I had not chosen her."KAROL MARKOWICZ: 1619 PROJECT FOUNDER NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES LEARNED THE HARD TRUTH ABOUT SCHOOLSNikole Hannah-Jones, the controversial creator of the 1619 Project, published a viral essay regretting her decision to send her daughter to public schools.
(Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)Hannah-Jones' admission sparked intense backlash from critics who accused her of sacrificing her daughter's education for her progressive values.The pushback was strong enough for Hannah-Jones to question if she should have written the essay."I know it would sound crazy if I say none of the critique was valid, but I’m like, what is the critique?" Hannah-Jones told The New York Times during an interview on Wednesday. "There was some online discourse that was pretty brutal.
And, you know, I have experienced some brutal discourse through the years, but usually not about, like, me as a parent," Hannah-Jones said."That was hard.
And for a minute I’m like, ‘Man, should I have written this?’ And I’ve actually never, ever, as a journalist, questioned, 'Should I have written something?' And there was a moment where I was just like, ‘I did not have to subject myself to this.Should I h...