Patrick Healy, Nikole Hannah-Jones:

In her 23-year career as a journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner, Nikole Hannah-Jones had never asked herself that question before. Then again, she told me, she had never written a piece as personal and vulnerable as her September article in The New York Times Magazine, “In Fighting For Every Child, Did I Betray My Own?”

The 8,000-word piece grapples with the consequences of her and her husband’s decision to enroll their daughter, Najya, in predominantly Black, low-income schools in New York City. The article is a follow-up to one Nikole wrote 10 years ago about Najya, who is now a teenager — and who now disagrees with her parents’ schooling decisions for her.

To write the piece with integrity, Nikole said, she had to lay herself bare — and, in doing so, exposed herself and her daughter and effectively handed ammunition to critics of hers and her choices. So for a quick minute, as she read some of the online criticism of the article, she wondered if it was worth it.

I recently spoke with Nikole about that, what went into writing the piece, readers’ reactions and whether she agreed with any of the criticism. Our interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. (A slightly more condensed version of the interview is available as a video.)

PATRICK HEALY: You had to make the decision about whether to put a very public spotlight on your daughter. How did you go about making that decision?

NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES: With the original essay, I had never intended to write about our family’s experience. But then our school became embroiled in this national integration fight. I had been covering these issues since my first job, and it seemed impossible not to write about it.

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A comprehensive list of the responses to the Nikole Hannah-Jones article

Do you trust the news? The New York Times at UW–Madison

On September 15, three New York Times journalists spoke at UW–Madison’s Pyle Center about why trust in the news is low and what they do about it: editor Patrick Healy, White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs, and Chicago bureau chief Julie Bosman.