Nikole Hannah-Jones and her daughter had a candid conversation about Jones purposely keeping her child in an underperforming school to be 'fair'. According to Jones, she didn't think her daughter should get advantages other young people didn't have and because her daughter had privilege in other areas, she could stay in a bad school. That's a whole lot to unpack.
🧵Some highlights from NPR’s interview with Nikole Hannah-Jones and her daughter, Najya:
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) September 28, 2026
Najya tells her, “you put me on the line to help a school, but it didn’t work.”
She adds: “I think I’m fine because I’m in the school I am now. I feel like if I picked a different choice… pic.twitter.com/XYasEaraVR
Sacrificing your kid on the altar of progressivism is some wild behavior.
Najya tells her mother that she’s supposed to want advantages for her own child:
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) September 28, 2026
“Is that not a normal thing you want me to have?” pic.twitter.com/cPSxPwqhJp
A mother’s first instinct should be to want what is best for her own child. Caring about other children is good. Putting them ahead of your own is not. Your child comes first.
That is why the line “all children belong to the community” is so corrosive. American parents are not having children for a collective. They are having children to raise, protect, and answer for. Those children are not public property.
Once given the opportunity to choose her own high school, Najya took the “exact opposite…approach” of her mother and picked high-achieving schools.
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) September 28, 2026
NHJ: “My child came up with the exact opposite of my life’s work.” pic.twitter.com/MJ3fdajLpY
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Thankfully, this is one instance of a child being much more intelligent than her mother. Her own self-preservation kicked in.
Nikole Hannah-Jones says the decision to put her daughter in a low-income school felt “unnatural,” but adds that “a lot of things that are the right thing to do don't feel natural.” pic.twitter.com/Uj4au0mljs
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) September 28, 2026
Yes, intentionally seeking out ways to harm your own child is unnatural. That sick feeling is your conscience.
Nikole Hannah-Jones says she had to block out memories to live with the education choices she made for her daughter and she doesn’t know what she’s arguing for anymore:
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) September 28, 2026
“And I was like, damn, you really—to make this work for yourself, mentally I just forgot. I had just pushed a… pic.twitter.com/WffwKg4WVy
Hannah-Jones is fighting a lost battle. Defending failing public schools is not a moral obligation. It is better to admit the model has failed. Some inner-city schools educate poor kids well. Those successes are not coming from union-run government schools.
That “you’re fine” is so damning.
— DAP/ADOS TRIBE🇺🇸 (@Black_Action) September 29, 2026
It’s as if NHJ actually believes this choice will have no long term negative effects on her daughter’s life. https://t.co/FuAfg9IZVe
During the podcast, her daughter talks about starting high school and having to learn fractions because she wasn't taught them in middle school. She discusses how hard she had to work to catch up. She has paid the price.
And this is why I don't echo the idea that "NHJ is so brave for admitting her mistake!"
— Megan | @megievalist (@megievalist) September 28, 2026
She does not seem sorry. https://t.co/p27yCsGewe
Not even a little bit.