Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones confronted New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels about the lack of a citywide integration plan at a Manhattan town hall on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The exchange came after her daughter’s schooling and the backlash to her essay renewed debate about unequal education in the city’s public schools.
At the event hosted by New York Appleseed and student journalism organization The Bell, Hannah-Jones asked Samuels to spell out how the city’s public schools would become less segregated. Politico covered the contentious exchange, which drew frustration from an audience of about 800 students, parents and education advocates.
Hannah-Jones pointed to desegregation proposals developed during former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, including changes to selective admissions and gifted programs. She questioned why the city had not carried out key recommendations.
“You keep talking about what you did, and I’m asking, what are you going to do?” she told Samuels, pressing him to discuss his plans rather than his previous work as a district superintendent.
Samuels argued that school integration requires support from local communities. He cited working groups in five of the city’s 32 school districts, but did not commit to specific citywide policies or provide a timeline for a broader integration plan. Audience members responded with groans and jeers.
The debate follows Hannah-Jones’ September New York Times Magazine essay about her and her husband’s decision a decade ago to enroll their daughter in predominantly Black, low-income schools. Their daughter later expressed disappointment in the education she received.
In a separate New York Times Magazine Instagram interview, Nikole Hannah-Jones said the criticism was unusually painful because it targeted her parenting. She had faced harsh reactions to her journalism before, but said this was the first time she questioned whether she should have published a story. “Should I have written this?” she recalled wondering.
She said no single story could fully address school segregation, a subject she has reported on for two decades. Although she briefly questioned exposing herself to personal attacks, she added, “But then I just can’t regret that either.”
City officials plan to launch working groups in all 32 districts by 2028, but Samuels left the town hall without announcing a deadline for a citywide desegregation plan.
