New York Times Magazine reporter and creator of the controversial 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones, acknowledged Sunday that she regretted aspects of the decision to send her daughter to predominantly Black, high-poverty public schools in Brooklyn, New York, after the now-16-year-old told her she did not receive the education she wanted — a decade after Hannah-Jones described the choice as an effort to challenge school segregation.
asserted
Jones → acknowledge → segregation
In a newly released New York Times Magazine essay, Hannah-Jones described revisiting years of emails with her daughter Najya’s teachers and principals and confronting what she called a truth she could no longer suppress.
uncertain
she → release → what
"Now I felt overcome with regret.
asserted
I → overcome → regret
Najya deserved better," Hannah-Jones said.
asserted
Jones → deserve → ?
"They all did.
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They → do → ?
This girl, my only child, looked to me to protect her, to give her what she needed to thrive.
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she → look → what
And I had not chosen her."
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I → choose → her
Hannah-Jones told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the broader focus should remain on families who lack the resources to pursue better educational options for their children.
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who → tell → children
"I hope people concerned about the choice my husband and I made for our daughter will have equal or more outrage for the thousands of Black children whose parents don’t have the resources to send them to better schools," she said.
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she → hope → schools
"As I write in the piece, there is no absolution to be had for any of us."
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I → write → us
Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and longtime school choice advocate, responded to Hannah-Jones' essay in a statement to Fox News Digital, arguing parents should prioritize their children's individual educational needs.
"
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parents → respond → needs
Parents should put their children first.
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Parents → put → children
They should not sacrifice them to a failing government school system in the name of ideology," DeAngelis said.
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DeAngelis → sacrifice → ideology
"Nikole Hannah-Jones now says she regrets putting her ideals ahead of her daughter’s education.
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she → say → education
"
"I welcome Nikole Hannah-Jones to the school choice revolution," he continued.
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he → welcome → revolution
"Maybe she will start to understand that pulling her daughter from the failing school system would have done more to improve those schools — through competition — than the status quo ever did.
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quo → start → competition
You don’t fix public schools by locking kids in them without any accountability.
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You → fix → accountability
You fix them by giving them a reason to change their ways."
Hannah-Jones said the realization culminated in a conversation with Najya as she was writing the essay.
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she → fix → essay
She apologized to her daughter after reviewing problems that had followed her through elementary and middle school.
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that → apologize → school
"I feel like you got cheated," Hannah-Jones said.
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Jones → feel → ?
"And I’m sorry for that."
asserted
I → ’m → that
Najya responded by telling her mother that she wished her own education had received greater consideration alongside Hannah-Jones' broader concerns about educational inequality.
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education → respond → inequality
"Sometimes I wish instead of always thinking about other kids, you would have thought about me.
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you → wish → me
I never really got the education I wanted," Najya said.
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Najya → get → education
Hannah-Jones’ assessment marked a shift from the position she described in a widely discussed 2016 New York Times Magazine essay, when she explained why she and her husband enrolled Najya at P.S. 307, a Brooklyn school that was then overwhelmingly Black and Latino and served a largely low-income population.
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that → mark → population
Hannah-Jones said at the time she believed middle-class families could help improve segregated schools by enrolling their children and investing in them.
uncertain
families → say → them
"I worried — I worry still — about whether I made the right decision for our little girl.
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I → worry → girl
But I knew I made the just one," Hannah-Jones said in 2016.
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Jones → know → 2016
The new essay detailed academic problems that became more apparent as Najya grew older.
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Najya → detail → problems
At Unison, her middle school, Najya earned strong grades and took honors courses, but later said she and her friends realized that they were not being sufficiently challenged.
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they → earn → courses
Hannah-Jones described limited homework, inexperienced teachers and gaps in her daughter's math preparation that became especially apparent after Najya entered a more academically demanding high school.
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Najya → describe → school
Unison Principal Emily Paige acknowledged in the essay that some attempts to accommodate students who entered the school academically behind had unintended consequences, including the decision to eliminate homework.
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who → acknowledge → homework
"It is important to not, in our pursuit of being antiracist, lower expectations," Paige said.
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Paige → lower → expectations
"Because this is what happens, right?
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what → happen → ?
It’s racism under the guise of antiracism."
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It → ’ → antiracism
DeAngelis told Fox News Digital that Hannah-Jones’ experience should lead her to support policies allowing education funding to follow children to schools selected by their families.
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funding → tell → families
"Hannah-Jones can afford better options.
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Jones → afford → options
Most families cannot," DeAngelis said.
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DeAngelis → say → ?
"She should fight for the funding to follow the student so more parents have the same educational opportunities she can buy for herself.
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she → fight → herself
School choice is an equalizer."
The debate comes as school choice remains an active issue in New York.
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choice → come → York
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
