Waterloo '1619 Project' author strikes a blow for DEI at home
Nikole Hannah-Jones's "1619 Freedom School" hosting Black literature reading event in Waterloo after school district dropped out
WATERLOO — Renowned Waterloo-born, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones of “The 1619 Project” fame has counterpunched on state and federal moves to suppress diversity equity and inclusion education — right in her own hometown.
Waterloo’s 1619 Freedom School, which Jones co-founded, is sponsoring a free community African-American Read-In 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 15 at Kersenbrock Auditorium at Waterloo West High School, her alma mater.
The move follows a decision by the Waterloo Community School District to withdraw from direct participation in an annual statewide African American Read-in hosted by the University of Northern Iowa, a virtual even held in February during Black History Month.
Even though 27 percent of Waterloo public school students are Black — the highest percentage Black public school enrollment in the state — the district dropped out of the event, sponsored by UNI’s College of Education in collaboration with the National Council of Teachers of English. It was estimated to involve 3,500 first graders from 73 public and private schools across Iowa.
Waterloo was the only district to withdraw from the event, on advice of legal counsel, because some of the reading materials may not comply with recent federal directives prohibiting “diversity, equity and inclusion” in public education. However, the district offered nonprofit organizations such as the 1619 Freedom School an opportunity to distribute the books instead.
According to a news release from the 1619 Freedom School, “As educational and other institutions across the nation pulled back from or canceled Black History Month celebrations and are removing books on Black history and by Black authors from school and library shelves, Hannah-Jones saw a larger opportunity to raise awareness about the national scourge of book banning and to bring the entire community together around the importance of the freedom to learn. “
Hannah-Jones is bringing the authors themselves to the read-in.
“Along with author readings, the 1619 Freedom School will give out hundreds of books for readers of all ages,” the release continued.
“We’re reinforcing the value and importance of Black History Month, Black books, and telling Black stories for children of all races in a political climate where these commemorations and texts are being banned,” Hannah-Jones said in the release.
“(President Donald) Trump’s executive order and state bans like (Senate File) 496 (in Iowa) have put school districts such as Waterloo’s in the position of having to make untenable decisions in order not to lose the essential funding that they rely on to serve their students,” Hannah-Jones said. “It is up to communities to step up and protect our children’s freedom to learn.”
The Iowa Legislature in recent years passed a so-called “divisive concepts” bill that restricts how students can learn about racial inequality and this nation’s history of racism.
In addition to Hannah-Jones herself, the May 15 event at Waterloo West High will feature readings by:
—Tami Charles, New York Times bestselling author, whose work “All Because You Matter” raised concerns about potential noncompliance with federal anti-DEI mandates.
—Derrick Barnes, Award-winning children’s book writer
—Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner and MacArthur Fellow.
The 1619 Freedom School’s African-American Read-In is co-sponsored by Penguin Random House, Pen America, Veridian Credit Union, Believe Waterloo, Antioch Baptist Church in Waterloo, the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, Simon & Schuster, University of Northern Iowa Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy, and Annie’s Foundation.
The Waterloo NAACP is partnering with the 1619 Freedom School to disburse Charles’s book to attendees and a number of community members have also donated to the event.
The 1619 Freedom School says in its release it is supported by private grants and donations and does not receive government funds “and so is not subject to the anti-diversity orders issued by the Trump administration or Iowa’s so-called ‘divisive concepts’ law.”
The read-in event is free but space is limited and reservations may be made by clicking on the link here.
‘Nickel Boys’ screening March 13 at Waterloo theater
Additionally, the Black Hawk County NAACP announced that at 5:30 p.m. Thursday March 13, Marcus Crossroads Cinema near Crossroads Center in Waterloo will have a screening of “Nickel Boys,” the acclaimed film based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It is a 1619 Freedom School community event.
Following the screening, Hannah-Jones will have a conversation with director RaMell Ross. Admission is free but space is limited and reservations for that event may be made at the link here.
Hannah-Jones, who received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. won her Pulitzer in 2020 for her work on The 1619 Project while working for The New York Times. The series of articles was so named for the date the first enslaved people arrived in colonial Virginia. It was made into a television series on Hulu that aired in 2023. Hannah-Jones is the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at the Howard University School of Communications, where she also founded the Center for Journalism and Democracy.
Pat Kinney is a freelance writer and former longtime news staffer with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier and, prior to that, several years at the Ames Tribune. He is currently an oral historian with the Grout Museum District in Waterloo. His “View from the Cedar Valley” column is part of “Iowa Writers Collaborative,” a collection of news and opinion writers from around the state who previously and currently work with a host of Iowa newspapers, news organizations and other publications. They are listed below. Clink on the links to check them out, subscribe for free - and, if you believe in the value of quality journalism, support this column and/or any of theirs with a paid subscription.
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“It is up to communities to step up and protect our children’s freedom to learn.” Freedom to learn was a given in my lifetime. Yes, some of the teaching had omissions, but we had access to books. I love what the Freedom School is doing.
Thank you to Nikole and all of the authors and organizations who stepped up to sponsor this important program. Thank you for demonstrating how to push back and move forward.