work.
“You are not the work you do; you are the person you are.”
read.
The 19th*
The APPEAL
Scalawag Magazine
Southerly
watch.
the “Brief But Spectacular” team came to interview me as part of a three-part series for PBS NewsHour connected to my criminal-justice reporting in Jackson.
listen.
“The Critical Work of Black Women in the Democratic Party” via The Takeaway (Aug 2020)
The Appeal Podcast: Mayor of Jackson Faces Uphill Battle for Police Accountability (Feb 2019)
”Children Are Being Criminally Charged As Adults In Mississippi” via Here & Now (Nov 2019)
”Pushed Out” via Reveal (Nov 2019)
fellowships.
2018-19 Reveal Investigative Fellow: Produced a multi-year investigation that followed a 13-year-old through the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems in Mississippi and exposed the Jim Crow Era laws that landed him there. You the print story called Bound by Statute here. Or stream the podcast episode “Development arrested.”
2018 "Bringing Home the World" Fellow: With funding from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), I went to Liberia in July 2018 to report on the socio-political climate under President George Weah, an international soccer legend and one of the country’s first presidents with no American heritage. Read more about the project that has a historical connection to Mississippi here.
awards.
Evident Change’s 2020 Media for a Just Society Award
Longreads Best of 2019 selection for crime reporting
First Place 2020 SPJ Green Eyeshade Award (by the Southern Society of Professional Journalists) for Public Service Online Journalism
2019 Robert McCord Freedom of Information Award from the Arkansas SPJ for coverage of officer-involved shootings. Judge’s comment:
“While many questions are yet to be answered, the persistent coverage by the JFP to hold the police accountable must be applauded. This is seeking information and closure for the families affected by these shootings.”
2019 Green Eyeshade Awards
First Place in Public Service for Officer-involved Shooting Coverage
Second Place for Courts & The Law Reporting for Policing Coverage
Second Place in Feature Writing
First Place in Travel Writing for “From Mississippi to Liberia: The Living Legacy of America’s West African Colony”
2018 Green Eyeshade Awards:
Best of Division for Coverage of Juvenile-Justice Reform in Mississippi
First Place in Public-Service Journalism for Juvenile-Justice Reform Coverage
Third Place in Courts and the Law Reporting for Coverage of the Hinds County District Attorney on Trial