The HBCU Buzz, which reports on historically black colleges and universities, featured 2021 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowship recipient Jamaija Rhoades in a recent article that discussed her fellowship win and her passion for telling underreported stories.
Rhoades is a senior at Hampton University’s Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. Hampton is a member of the Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium, a network of partnerships between the Pulitzer Center and colleges and universities to engage with students and faculty on critical global issues.
In the article, Hampton Assistant Professor of Journalism Lynn Waltz said, “Jamaija Rhoades is an excellent reporter who comes up with unique stories that no other students have thought of.”
For her Pulitzer Center fellowship, Rhoades will explore the impact of racism within the Richmond, Virginia, school system.
“Her examination of racism in the Richmond school system is aligned with our effort to launch a Center for Investigative Journalism within the School,” said B. Da’Vida Pummer, dean of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications.
Kem Sawyer, Pulitzer Center contributing editor and director of the Campus Consortium Reporting Fellow program, said Rhoades was uniquely qualified to take on this subject. "She has deep ties to Richmond and is herself a graduate of Richmond public schools.”
She added, “Recent events have only underscored the importance of her topic. Reporting on racial justice is core to the Pulitzer Center mission—we look forward to adding Jamaija’s project to our portal on this issue."
Rhoades wants to “create change for a community of people who are often overlooked and mislabeled,” she said in the article.
To read the full story, please visit the HBCU Buzz website.
