Nikole Hannah-Jones Organizes Black Author ‘Read-In’ After Waterloo, Iowa, District Cancels Due To Trump’s Anti-DEI Policies

Waterloo allegedly canceled the original read-in event under threat from the Trump administration's new education initiatives.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Howard University professor has taken it into her own hands to keep Black writers and authors in the forefront. On March 15, Hannah-Jones hosted her very own Waterloo, Iowa, “African American Read-In,” after the original one was canceled due to President Donald Trump’s threat to withhold K-12 funding if schools do not remove diversity from their curriculum.

Waterloo is the school district with the largest percentage of Black children in Iowa, with a population of 67,000, highlighting the importance of Hannah-Jones’ read-in. Usually, the district would participate in its own annual “read-in” that would take place across the entire state. The event would highlight Black books, authors, and themes as they are being threatened within the curriculum.

However, K-12 schools in Waterloo have decided to cancel this year’s readings and have attributed the change in part to Trump’s constant push to eradicate race-based teachings across America. He has reportedly threatened to withhold government funding from any K-12 schools that continue to incorporate diversity into its curriculum. After hearing that Waterloo wouldn’t be having a read this year, Hannah-Jones stepped in to do it herself.

In a video posted on her social media on March 10, Hannah-Jones officially announced she will be presenting “An African American Read-In” in Waterloo. The event will be completely free to those who attend and will feature an impressive panel of Black authors to host readings and conversations about Black books. Hannah-Jones added that she will hand out “hundreds” of free books, including her very own — “The 1619 Project.”

In her hometown of Waterloo, and as a former reporter for The New York Times, Hannah-Jones participated in creating “The 1619 Project,” — a book featuring a series of articles that meticulously traced modern American lice to its roots in slavery.

Hannah-Jones’ “The 1619 Project” has printed both an adult version and a picture-book version adapted for children.

In the video posted to her Instagram account, Hannah-Jones began, “Why am I holding this event? Waterloo is my hometown, and Waterloo has the most heavily Black school district in the state of Iowa, and it is the most heavily Black city in the state of Iowa.”

She continued, “And they backed out because of the new directives coming out of the Trump administration. And that’s really the reason these directives exist … They are really to intimidate school districts from teaching Black history and Black books. And so my district decided not to participate for fear of consequences.”

She explained that the decision is what spurred the 1619 Freedom School — an after-school academy Hannah-Jones previously founded — to step in.

“We decided we would not deprive our children — all of our children, of all races — of the ability to read inspiring and affirming books about the Black experience.”

She listed several of her writer friends who would be attending the read-in, including Jacqueline Woodson, Derek Barnes, and Tammy Charles.

She concluded, “So this Saturday we will have a massive, colossal, beautiful community African American read-in.”

The March 15 will run between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Waterloo West High School.