1619 Project Creator Reflects on Flawed School Choice for Daughter
WHO:
NY Post - Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the 1619 Project and New York Times Magazine reporter.
Fox News - Najya, Hannah-Jones' 16-year-old daughter.
Fox News - Corey DeAngelis, research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and school choice advocate.
Fox News - Emily Paige, principal of Unison middle school.
WHAT:
NY Post - Najya, Hannah-Jones' daughter, is now "boiling" angry and is significantly behind her peers after being allowed to enroll in a more rigorous high school.
Fox News - Hannah-Jones stated, "Now I felt overcome with regret. Najya deserved better," reflecting on her daughter's education.
Fox News - Najya expressed to her mother, "Sometimes I wish instead of always thinking about other kids, you would have thought about me. I never really got the education I wanted."
Fox News - Unison Principal Emily Paige acknowledged that lowering expectations in pursuit of antiracism could lead to "racism under the guise of antiracism."
NY Post - Hannah-Jones sent her daughter to poor New York City schools as a "sacrifice" to help the education system.
Fox News - Hannah-Jones expressed regret over her decision to send Najya to predominantly Black, high-poverty public schools.
Fox News - Najya stated she "never really got the education I wanted."
Fox News - Hannah-Jones admitted to feeling "overcome with regret" regarding her daughter's education.
Fox News - DeAngelis criticized Hannah-Jones for prioritizing ideology over her daughter's education.
WHERE:
NY Post - Brooklyn, New York, where Hannah-Jones' daughter attended school.
Fox News - P.S. 307, a Brooklyn school where Najya was enrolled.
WHEN:
Fox News - Hannah-Jones described her decision to enroll Najya at P.S. 307 in a 2016 New York Times Magazine essay.
Fox News - Hannah-Jones revisited her daughter's educational experience in a newly released essay.
WHY:
Fox News - Hannah-Jones initially believed that enrolling her daughter in a segregated school would help challenge educational inequality and improve the school.
HOW:
Fox News - Hannah-Jones reviewed years of emails with her daughter's teachers and principals to confront educational shortcomings, leading to her regretful realization.
Fox News - Hannah-Jones reviewed years of emails with her daughter's teachers and principals to confront the educational shortcomings.
Fox News - Najya's middle school, Unison, had limited homework and inexperienced teachers, which contributed to her educational challenges.
(UPDATED September 21, 2026 02:11 UTC)
Najya, the daughter of Hannah-Jones, is feeling "boiling" angry and is significantly behind her peers after enrolling in a more rigorous high school. Reflecting on her daughter's education, Hannah-Jones expressed her regret, stating, "Now I felt overcome with regret. Najya deserved better," while Najya herself wished her mother had prioritized her needs, saying, "Sometimes I wish instead of always thinking about other kids, you would have thought about me." Unison Principal Emily Paige acknowledged that lowering expectations in the name of antiracism could inadvertently lead to "racism under the guise of antiracism," a concern that Hannah-Jones confronted after reviewing years of emails with her daughter's teachers and principals.
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(UPDATED September 20, 2026 20:57 UTC)
Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the 1619 Project, has expressed deep regret over her decision to send her daughter Najya to predominantly Black, high-poverty public schools in Brooklyn, where Najya felt she "never really got the education I wanted." In a newly released essay, Hannah-Jones reflected on her choice to enroll Najya at P.S. 307 back in 2016, believing it would help challenge educational inequality, but now admits to feeling "overcome with regret." Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate, criticized Hannah-Jones for prioritizing ideology over her daughter's education, highlighting the limited homework and inexperienced teachers at Najya's middle school, Unison.