The 1619 Project Education Conference (2024)

NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES

1619 Project Creator and Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University

Nikole Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. The book version of The 1619 Project as well as the 1619 Project children's book, Born on the Water, were instant #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her 1619 Project is now a six-part docuseries on Hulu and won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Hannah-Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the National Magazine Award three times. She also serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she founded the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Hannah-Jones is also the co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, which seeks to increase the number of investigative reporters and editors of color, and in 2022 she opened the 1619 Freedom School, a free, afterschool literacy program in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. Hannah-Jones holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame.

DONNALIE JAMNAH

Senior Program Manager, K-12 Education, Pulitzer Center

Donnalie Jamnah is a Senior Education Program Manager for the Pulitzer Center’s education team. They manage several programs including the 1619 Educator Network. DJ joined the Pulitzer Center team in 2021 after years working as an instructional coach for teachers in K-12 classrooms. Prior to instructional coaching, DJ taught 10th grade English Language Arts.

DJ has a Masters in Educational Technology from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and two Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Creative Writing from Columbia University in the City of New York. They are passionate about any work that is creative, purposeful, and committed to the pursuit of equity.

JUNE AND ANGIE PROVOST

Multigenerational Sugarcane Farmers and Activists

June and Angie Provost are esteemed multigenerational sugarcane farmers situated in the enchanting, marshy landscapes of South Louisiana. This accomplished Black farming couple, recognized for their successes and resilience, has emerged as fervent advocates for farmers. Their journey, marked by triumphs and challenges, has propelled them into activism, particularly in championing the rights of socially disadvantaged groups frequently victimized by unjust practices, resulting in a cycle of debt peonage and the disintegration of communities. The Provosts are dedicated to fostering a fair and equitable agricultural landscape for all, striving to create a future where exploitation gives way to empowerment.

WILLIAM A. DARITY JR.

Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy

William A. (“Sandy”) Darity Jr. is the Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics and the director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University. He has served as chair of the Department of African and African American Studies and was the founding director of the Research Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality at Duke. Previously he served as director of the Institute of African American Research, director of the Moore Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program, director of the Undergraduate Honors Program in economics, and director of Graduate Studies at the University of North Carolina. at Chapel Hill.

Darity’s research focuses on inequality by race, class and ethnicity, stratification economics, schooling and the racial achievement gap, North-South theories of trade and development, skin shade and labor market outcomes, the economics of reparations, the Atlantic slave trade and the Industrial Revolution, the history of economics, and the social psychological effects of exposure to unemployment.

His most recent book, coauthored with A. Kirsten Mullen, is From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century (2020). Previous books include For-Profit Universities: The Shifting Landscape of Marketized Education (2010) (co-edited Tressie McMillan Cottom), Economics, Economists, and Expectations: Microfoundations to Macroapplications (2004) (co-authored with Warren Young and Robert Leeson), and Boundaries of Clan and Color: Transnational Comparisons of Inter-Group Disparity (2003) (co-edited with Ashwini Deshpande).He has published or edited 13 books and published more than 300 articles in professional outlets.

WOODY HOLTON

The Peter and Bonnie McCausland Professor of American History at the University of South Carolina

Woody Holton, the Peter and Bonnie McCausland Professor of American History at the University of South Carolina, is the author of Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia (1999), which won the Organization of American Historians’ Merle Curti Social History Award, Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution (2007), a finalist for the National Book Award, and Abigail Adams (2009), which won the Bancroft Prize. Liberty is Sweet: The Epic of the American Revolution, which Holton wrote as the Huntington Library’s Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow and as a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow, was published in 2021 by Simon and Schuster.

CAITLIN C. ROSENTHAL

Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley

Caitlin Rosenthal is Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley where she teaches and researches on business history, labor history, and the emergence of capitalism. Her award-winnning book, Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management explores the development of business practices on slave plantations and uses this history to understand the relationship between violence and innovation.

JOSHUA BENNETT

Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT

Joshua Bennett is a Professor of Literature and Distinguished Chair of the Humanities at MIT. He is the author of five books: Spoken Word: A Cultural History (Knopf, 2023), which was named one of The New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of 2023; The Study of Human Life (Penguin, 2022), which won the Paterson Poetry Prize, was longlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize, and is currently being adapted for television in collaboration with Warner Brothers Studios; Owed (Penguin, 2020), a finalist for the New England Book Award; Being Property Once Myself (Harvard University Press, 2020), winner of the MLA’s William Sanders Scarborough Prize, and The Sobbing School (Penguin, 2016), winner of the National Poetry Series and a finalist for an NAACP Image Award.

Dr. Bennett earned his Ph.D. in English from Princeton University, and an M.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Warwick, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He has recited his original works at the Sundance Film Festival, the NAACP Image Awards, and President Obama’s Evening of Poetry and Music at the White House. He has also performed and taught creative writing workshops at hundreds of middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities across the United States, as well as in the U.K. and South Africa.
For his creative writing and scholarship, Joshua has received fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. Alongside his friend and colleague, Jesse McCarthy, he is the founding editor of Minor Notes, a Penguin Classics book series dedicated to minor poets within the black expressive tradition. He lives in Massachusetts with his family.

CORNELIUS EADY

Professor of English, and Hodges Chair of Excellence at the University of Tenn. Knoxville

Poet/Playwright/Songwriter and Cave Canem Co-Founder Cornelius Eady was born in Rochester, NY in 1954, and is Professor of English, and Hodges Chair of Excellence at the University of Tenn. Knoxville. He is the author of several poetry collections, including Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, winner of the 1985 Lamont Prize; The Gathering of My Name, nominated for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry; Brutal Imagination, and Hardheaded Weather. He wrote the libretto to Diedra Murray’s opera Running Man, which was short listed for the Pulitzer Prize in Theatre, and his verse play Brutal Imagination won the Oppenheimer Prize for the best first play from an American Playwright in 2001. His work has been featured on NPR, BBC Radio 4 and the PBS Newshour. His awards include Fellowships from the NEA, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and was The Miller Family Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing and Professor in English and Theater at The University of Missouri-Columbia. From 2021-2022 he served as Interim Director at Poets House, a poetry library located in New York City.

ROBERT JONES, JR.

Writer and Public Speaker

Robert Jones, Jr. (formerly known as “Son of Baldwin”) is a Brooklyn-based writer and public speaker. He is the author of The New York Times bestselling novel, The Prophets, which was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Variety, and The Paris Review, as well as in the critically acclaimed anthologies Four Hundred Souls and The 1619 Project. The Prophets was named one of “The 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature” by The New York Times.

NAFISSA THOMPSON-SPIRES

Richards Family Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Cornell University

Nafissa Thompson-Spires is the author of Heads of the Colored People, which won the PEN Open Book Award, the Hurston/Wright Award for Fiction, and the Los Angeles Times’s Art Siedenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her collection was longlisted for the National Book Award, the PEN/ Robert W. Bingham Award, and several other prizes, including an NAACP Image Award. She is also the recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award. She earned a doctorate in English from ­­­­Vanderbilt University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from ­­­­­­the University of Illinois. With dark humor and covering topics from identity to chronic illness, her short fiction and essays have appeared in The Paris Review Daily, New York Magazine’s “The Cut,” The Root, The White Review, Ploughshares, 400 Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019, and The 1619 Project, among other publications. In addition to a novel under contract with Scribner, she has new writing forthcoming in Fourteen Days: A Community Gathering, edited by Margaret Atwood. She is currently the Richards Family Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Cornell University, teaching both in the MFA and undergrad programs.

DELLA BRYANT

Retired Educator

Della Bryant is a retired educator with over 40 years of experience across the nation, including as an elementary school teacher, principal, leadership consultant, and college-level faculty. She was born and raised in the Promise Land Community, an autonomous community established in Charlotte, Tennessee by African-Americans shortly after the Civil War. She went on to receive a Bachelor Degree of Education from Tennessee State University and a Master’s in Educational Administration & Leadership.

TAMYKA MORANT

Assistant Principal of Bruce-Monroe at Park View

Dr. Tamyka Morant (she/her) brings over 22 years of comprehensive experience as a PK-8 educator in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Her teaching and learning approach is deeply rooted in the tenets of Black feminism, Black feminist pedagogy, and justice praxis/liberatory education. In her current role as Assistant Principal of Bruce-Monroe at Park View, a public dual language elementary school in Washington, D.C., she continues to spearhead transformative initiatives, unwavering in her dedication to collaborating with fellow educators, students, and families to advance educational equity and justice for all students.

MATT OLSON

3rd Grade Classroom Teacher, Partnership Academy

Matt Olson is a classroom teacher at Partnership Academy in Richfield, MN. This is his 7th year teaching 3rd grade and his 10th year teaching overall. Prior to teaching, he served as a K-3 Literacy Tutor for the Minnesota Reading Corps. Matt lives in Bloomington, MN with his wife and their 3 children. In his free time, he enjoys coaching youth basketball and tennis. He believes in the power of education to build connections, strengthen communities, and empower youth to realize their dreams.

SHAUNA RUSSELL

Director of Academics at Purpose Preparatory Academy

Shauna Russell is first, foremost, and forever a teacher, but now serving as the Director of Academics at Purpose Preparatory Academy in Nashville, TN. She is a two-time recipient of Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Blue Ribbon Teacher Award, the 2015 recipient of the Tennessee Charter School Center’s honor of Elementary Charter School Teacher of the Year, and a 2019 finalist for the TCSC Administrator of the Year recognition. Ms. Russell graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, and is currently enrolled in library science graduate work with the University of Tennessee. She has served as an adjunct instructor for Building Excellent Schools (BES), an expert panelist to the U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Profile Project, and more recently, a board member of the Promise Land Heritage Association.

SHAMIA TRUITT-MARTIN

Educator

Shamia Truitt-Martin is a proud career educator of over 20 years who views education as a selfless venture that requires equity for all, compassion, empathy, patience, tenacity, and a love of knowledge. She spent 11 years as a department lead in Atlantic Public Schools, and an additional 11 years as a lead educator in Durham Public Schools. Shamia’s passion is helping others learn and obtain their educational golden keys of opportunity. She’s worked with the Duke Young Scholars program teaching students the fundamentals of educational research for 3 years. Shamia is a life-long learner, who believes in Social Justice and Equity. Her education includes degrees from Boston and Georgia State University as well as North Carolina Central University. Shamia has a Master’s in Education from Georgia State University and is AIG Certified. Some of her work is featured in Dr. Sharon L. Spencer’s book: “Getting to The Common Core: Using Research-Based Strategies that Empower Students to Own Their Learning,” and "Successful Black Parenting's: A Movement: Positioning Black Youth As Change Agents, Historians, & Creatives" Her calling is to inspire, motivate, and provide the best educational experiences for students. She emphatically believes that Social Sciences prepare us to excel in our global community.

KIMBERLY FERRELL

Lecturer at Eastern Michigan University

Kimberly D. Ferrell is an author, a minister, a mentor, historical researcher and an educator. She is a lecturer; teaching social foundations undergraduate courses at Eastern Michigan University. Kimberly holds a Ph.D. in Educational studies, a Masters in Women and Gender Studies, and a Bachelors in Communication from Eastern Michigan University. Her work examines the history of multidimensional oppressions (racism, sexism, classism) of Black American women in society and in education. Through her research, Dr. Ferrell offers solutions on ways women can be liberated from oppression by using Intersectionality and Critical Race Feminism (ICRF) as a theoretical framework.

SOSANYA JONES

Associate Professor at Howard University

Dr. Sosanya Jones (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for the Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies (HELPS) program in the School of Education at Howard University where she teaches courses on HBCU governance, policy, HBCU community and board relations, and advanced qualitative research. Dr. Jones and her ELPS doctoral student Zakiyyah Ali collaborated with Dr. Blanca Vega, a higher education professor at Montclair State University (an HSI), and Marco Sanchez, a history teacher at a Manhattan-based middle school to propose a project entitled "HBCUs Matter" for the 2023 cohort of The 1619 Project Education Network.

BERNICE MAYFIELD

Faculty Member at Northern Virginia Community College

Bernice Ann Mayfield, MS.Ed, Early Childhood Education serves as a faculty member at Northern Virginia Community College. Bernice’s dedication to education can be traced back to the Mayfield One Room Schoolhouse (founded by her Great Grandfather- Lewis Henry Mayfield) in Virginia. She honors that family legacy by energetically supporting adults to consider and successfully pursue academic credentials.

JENNY RIKERS

5th-grade Teacher and Equity Liaison

Jenny Rikkers is a 5th-grade teacher and an Equity Liaison in Sacramento with an emphasis on Justice work and has been teaching for 22 years. Jenny is also an Instructor in the Masters and Credential program in the Sacramento section of the University of San Francisco and has worked at the university level for the past ten years. Jenny is a facilitator for LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) in Sacramento and has been learning about the reading brain for the past 7 years. Jenny’s motivation for this study for The 1619 Project came from the work of Dr. Alfred Tatum, a Professor in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver, who is a leading authority on African American boys’ literacy development. Jenny is inspired to be a part of this opportunity to share this work with other educators across the country.

SHIMA TONDAR

Ph.D. Student

Shima Tondar, Ph.D. student in the Teacher Education department at EMU, specializes in quantitative research focusing on financial literacy and women's economic advancement. Partnering with Climb Your Everest, a non-profit organization offering professional services to women in Nepal, Turkey, and Afghanistan with skills and resources to combat gender inequality in their communities and beyond. 10+ years of experience in client advising and relationship management. Bringing a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to discussions on economic and gender inequality.

KIMBERLY HENDERSON

Digital Curator, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Kimberly Annece Henderson is a historical researcher, curator, and author based in New York City. Her work centers genealogy and Black American lineages through archival photography and historical preservation, as seen in her Instagram project, @Emalineandthem. She currently facilitates digital projects for the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, and her curatorial work is featured in the 1619 Project book, A New Origin Story. In March 2023, Penguin Random House published her first lyrical picture book entitled Dear Yesteryear.

AMELIA ACUÑA

5th grade abolitionist teacher at Howe Avenue Elementary

Amelia Acuña, 5th grade teacher at Howe Avenue Elementary in California. She is an educator, mentor, and abolitionist. She graduated California State University, Sacramento with a degree in Liberal Studies and minor in history. She worked for years as a tutor in English and history for college students and created a training program for small group tutoring at American River College. She has worked as a community organizer for the last 10 years in collaboration with the SHARE institute, a non-profit that works with impoverished women and children through domestic and international mini grants. As an educator she has continued this work by creating a leadership program where students organize and give back to their community, called the Howe Avenue Helpers. This leadership group was awarded the Spirit of San Juan Award in 2023. Her work has been uniquely shaped by the students she works with who are mostly emergent bilingual students. Many of whom are refugees from Afghanistan. She is GLAD trained and certificated. Her work has been inspired by the research of Dr. Alfred Tatum who created the Multidimensional Reading Model and GLAD strategies to teach emergent bilingual students.

PADMINI BISWAS

Lecturer in Urban Studies, Queens College

Padmini Biswas is a lecturer in urban studies at Queens College, City University of New York. received her Ph.D. in urban planning from Columbia University, her master’s degree with distinction from the London School of Economics, a B.S. in civil engineering from the Cooper Union, and a B.A. in English from Vassar College. Dr. Biswas has held various leadership positions in the social justice space. She advanced diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within New York State government, directed an undergraduate human rights education program that took students to Nepal, Jordan and Chile to broaden their perspectives on activism, and served as the Assistant Director of the Center for Place, Culture and Politics at the CUNY Graduate Center, a meeting ground of urban scholar-activists. Dr. Biswas is the founding editor of SALT, a South Asian American community-based literary journal funded by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. She is honored to be a 2023-2024 Pulitzer Center 1619 Project Education Network Fellow.

BLANCA VEGA

Associate Professor of Higher Education at Montclair State University

Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Blanca Elizabeth Vega is the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants. Dr. Vega’s identity as a multi-racial, Spanish speaking, low-income, and first generation college student continues to influence her scholarly and political work today.
Dr. Vega is an Associate Professor of Higher Education at Montclair State University. She earned a doctorate (Ed.D.) from the Higher and Postsecondary Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. During that time, she also worked as Director of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at Marymount Manhattan College. Overall, she has worked in various higher education settings as an administrator for 16 years prior to becoming a faculty member
Since 2017, Dr. Vega has led the coordination of Montclair State University’s Master of Arts program in Higher Education. She has taught courses such as Leadership and Supervision in Higher Education; Economics and Finance of Higher Education, and Diversity and Equity in Higher Education; and Global Perspectives in Higher Education.
Dr. Vega's scholarship broadly focuses on equity, access, and success in higher education among underserved populations. Her primary area of research situates racism as one of multiple barriers that can impact higher education experiences and success – not just for students, but also for administrators and faculty. She was recently awarded a national grant award from the Spencer foundation to explore the experiences of higher education and student affairs professionals and leaders with policies related to undocumented students. Additionally, Dr. Vega was awarded the Channing Briggs Foundation grant from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) to organize trainings focused on racialized organizational conflict in higher education.

JUDI-ANNE ALI-SINNER

Multilingual Learner Educator/Grant Coordinator (Initial Teacher Licensure)

Judi-Anne Ali-Sinner has been an educator for over 25 years and has taught both Spanish and English in Trinidad, North Carolina and Minnesota. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two daughters and teaches Multilingual Learners in grades 3-5 at Partnership Academy. She also works with educators at her school to get initial licensure for teaching through the Grow Your Own Grant program. In the past she has enjoyed teaching English to Newcomer Adults and Spanish to High School Students.

MAHA CASEY

Author, Historical Researcher, and Educator

Maha Casey is an immigrant, an author, historical researcher, educator, and a mentor for violence against women. She is a teaching assistant lecturer in social foundations undergraduate courses at Eastern Michigan University. Casey is in her last year to finish a Ph.D. program in Educational Studies, and she holds a Master's in Sociology, Criminology, and History from Eastern Michigan University. Casey holds a bachelor's degree in political science, sociology, and English from the University of Michigan. Her research examines oppression and violence against women worldwide and on college campuses. Casey offers her leadership, mentorship, and volunteerism to bring awareness and help women who have been violated physically and psychologically to provide help in healing.

DIALA DAGHER

Ph.D. student

Diala Dagher is a Ph.D. student, EMU Teacher Assistant Social Foundations, Community Education, and Researcher of Middle Eastern Culture in the College Classroom.

Merry Lanker

Art Educator

Merry Lanker has been an art educator for 15 years. She currently teaches Art 1, Art 2, and African American Art History at a middle school in Illinois. She was named the 2023 Middle School Art Educator of the Year by the Illinois Art Education Association. Merry is currently serving a year term on the Teacher Advisory Council of the National Humanities Center. When she's not teaching, she enjoys reading, working on her art, and all things outdoors with her partner Eliha.

D.C. ROGERS

Educator

Ms. Rogers is a seasoned performance-oriented professional offering a career history of success designing and delivering learning curriculums and instructional materials that drive the achievement of strategic learning objectives. She is a passionate and energetic individual with exceptional strengths in utilizing data and technology to maximize learning outcomes. She has a reputation for building a collaborative and high-performance culture where learners thrive. She is skilled in developing, creating, and delivering educational resources and loves learning.