Nikole Hannah-Jones: 'Apostrophes'

The New York Times Magazine writer tells a powerful story about education in America, at Longreads Story Night (Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, September 2015).

[rbaraka]

Powerful speech but sadly, its so true.

[onyeilonyeil]

The applause is good, but CHANGE is better

[SayuriEra]

This is a great discussion about a serious subject. I do not believe people of color understand how important a name is to their children. The wrong name gives those in power another way to dismiss you. It is not fair but it is the way of the world. Think about what you are doing when you brand a child.

[sapienveneficus]

To make this young girl's story only a story of racism is to view her life through far too narrow of a lens. Of course, race played a role in getting this ball rolling. Race may have been what trapped her great great grandparents in a cycle of poverty, a cycle that is difficult to break. But there's more to her story than that. There's poverty in this story, there's class in this story, there are decisions made by the adults in this young girl's life that contributed to her academic performance before she even started school, and so on and so on. In short, her story is no doubt incredibly nuanced, and to boil it all down to race does her (and all the kids like her) a great disservice.

[kateve]

Nikole - may I offer a constructive criticism? In your opening sentence you said you had met this All-American girl in the halls of Central High School. I immediately assumed she was African-American. So will anybody familiar with any large city public school system. Your piece later confirmed my assumption about the student body racial population. Your reveal does not have the impact you intended. Maybe you should have made your high school nameless? Called it historic or imposing or once-venerable instead?