Ida B. Wells Society Relocates from UNC-Chapel Hill to Morehouse College
On Thursday, Morehouse College announced that it is partnering with the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting (the Society) to support the future generation of journalism.
The Society is a news trade organization dedicated to increasing and retaining reporters and editors of color in the field of investigative reporting.
According to a news release, “this collaboration will produce a stronger, more innovative, data savvy, and ethical generation of investigative journalists with a shared sense of purpose.”
Members of The Society will have an on-campus presence, serving as mentors and advisers to Morehouse students, preparing them for “ethical careers in journalism through skills building in investigative and social justice reporting,” according to the university.
The new partnership will also give students greater access to internships, scholarships, graduate school placements, and employment
Ron Thomas, the chair of the Morehouse Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice department said that the program “intentionally tries to fill the gaps in media that rarely are populated by Black reporters and editors.”
The Society is a natural fit for the emphasis that Morehouse College and our journalism program have placed on social justice. So often, keen investigative skills are needed to unearth the truth when social justice issues are explored.”
– Ron Thomas, chair of the Morehouse Journalism in Sports, Culture and Social Justice department
The Society is making the move to Morehouse after previously being based out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel.
A launch for the Society’s Morehouse operations is scheduled for Feb. 16. Co-founders, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones and Vice president of News and Head of Investigations, Enterprise, Partnerships, and Grants at The Associated Press, Ron Nixon, are expected to be in attendance.
“I am very excited to announce that Morehouse College will be the new home of the Ida B. Wells Society,” Hannah-Jones, said in a statement.
“This partnership helps our young organization settle more deeply into our mission, which is to increase the number of investigative reporters of color. Being located on the campus of a historically Black college located in Atlanta in proximity to other HBCUs and coming to Morehouse just as it gets its journalism major off the ground, provides a tremendous opportunity for us to increase our impact on the field and society.”
