Waterloo Schools pulled out of an event focused on promoting Black literacy over fears of losing federal funding under Trump’s new anti-DEI directives. In response, the 1619 Freedom School is stepping in to host its own event this Saturday.

On this special episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones. She’s the founder of the 1619 School, and she believes this exactly the work the school was created to do.

“What’s so appalling to me is we know that there’s a gaping achievement gap in Waterloo. That’s why the 1619 Freedom School exists. We know that the typical black student in Waterloo reads at one to two grade levels behind the typical white student,” Hannah-Jones said. “That you would not be able to hand out a book for a child to take home that affirms that child’s identity, that is an ugly society that does something like that.”

1619 Freedom School will host a free Community African American Read-In on Saturday, March 15th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Waterloo West High School’s auditorium. The first 300 families attending Saturday’s event will receive tote bags containing books, including copies of “All Because You Matter.” The event is free and open to the public. You can register here.

You can support the work of the 1619 Freedom School by donating here.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. For more, check out its roundup of local writers.

Guest:

* Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and creator of the landmark The 1619 Project, now a Hulu original docuseries.

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