Journalism provides us as citizens with the awareness of issues and events going on around us. It is crucial to have journalists that accurately represent the American population, who tell us stories that empower us with a broader, more inclusive perspective. Journalists who challenge the foundations of our society are important; they are the catalyst for social innovation. Taking Introduction to Womens and Gender Studies at NC State changed the way I consume media., Learning about these 3 women who unapologetically challenge racist and patriarchal norms through provocative journalism has transformed the way I look at the world.Â
- Mona Eltahawy
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“I want patriarchy to fear feminism” – Mona Eltahawy
Mona Eltahawy is my absolute favorite feminist. She is an award-winning journalist, commentator, and international lecturer on Arab and Muslim Issues. Mona Eltahawy preaches abandoning civility. She has two books: Headscarves and Hymens, Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution, and The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls. Mona preaches abandoning civility, a principle that I never knew I needed. To put it simply, our patriarchal society is, in nature, violent towards women. Knowing this, why combat this with civility? She once wrote that “we must recognize the ubiquitous ways patriarchy has socialized women to shrink themselves extends into language.” Civil language and means will never overthrow a violent system. From being spoken over in class to being assaulted, women need to abandon the civility and politeness that we practice towards a system that simply does not value us. I encourage everyone to listen to Mona Eltahawy speak, her refusal to be polite to those who do not respect her as a woman of color is inspiring. We can all learn from her resistance.Â
- Nikole Hannah-Jones
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“I see my work as forcing us to confront our hypocrisy, forcing us to confront the truth that we would rather ignore.” – Nikole Hannah Jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter who covers racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and the creator of the 1619 Project. I recently listened to an online discussion between a few investigative journalists, including Nikole Hannah-Jones, where I learned about the origins of the 1916 project and Black journalism. In this discussion, Nikole Hannah-Jones said that the best compliment as an investigative journalist is having your work banned/censored. Hannah-Jones has embodied the ideal journalist in her writings about resegregation in schools across America and of the federal government’s failure to enforce the 1968 Fair Housing Act. To combat the low representation of people of color in journalism, she co-founded the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, an organization devoted to training and mentoring investigative reporters of color. Her work in the 1916 Project, commemorates the 400th anniversary of slavery by exploring the history of slavery and transforming our knowledge of slavery and Black American’s contribution’s to America. Nikole Hannah-Jones empowers the consumers of her work with her perspective and unapologetically exposing our oppressive systems.
- Ida B. Wells
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“I’d rather go down in history as one lone Negro who dared to tell the government that it had done a dastardly thing than to save my skin by taking back what I said.”
You may remember Ida B. Wells from a history class, but do you realize the weight of her resistance through investigative journalism? Ida B. Wells documented lynchings to shed light on the extent of violence towards African Americans in the American South. Her journalism shows us the horrifying products of the white power structure (which you probably didn’t hear about in history class). In The Red Record, Ida B. Wells presents the realities of lynching in the south with statistics, descriptions of lynchings, and explains the rationalizations of lynchings. Wells wrote this to catalyze change and to awaken the public. She also boldly named lynching the national crime of America and confronted white suffragettes who ignored lynching. Her willingness to criticize America, white suffragettes, and to document the truth about lynchings were essential contributions to the civil rights movement.Â
In a time where female journalists are berated by our president, we need to behave like these women at all costs.