Was Nikole Hannah-Jones Right?; The politics of Black education + the future of Black Studies
Make It Plain PodcastPlay episode
Show notes
Kehinde opens explaining he's been busy and sick, so is late to the Nikole Hannah-Jones conversation. Before diving in he launches the new Black Studies Centre BRIDGE, that we has founded with Dr Dionne Taylor, who was also shown the door at Birmingham City University. Keep your eye out for updates as we take Black Studies back to the community.
Black education is not just about test scores, and this episode makes the case with force. Kehinde turns a viral controversy around Nicole Hannah-Jones into a much bigger question: what do we actually mean when we say we care about our children, our schools, and our communities? He unpacks the backlash over Hannah-Jones' decision to send her daughter to a local public school, then widens the lens to expose the deeper tension between individual privilege and collective responsibility. Along the way, he gets personal, drawing on his own experience with underfunded schools in Birmingham, the realities of Black children navigating hostile institutions, and why "good schools" often still aren't safe, nurturing, or truly liberatory.
You'll discover:
Why the debate over "local school vs private school" is really about class, access, and who gets protected, how school funding, segregation, and structural inequality shape outcomes long before a child sits an exam Why Saturday schools and supplementary education mattered so much in Black communities
What gets lost when education is reduced to credentials, university access, and job outcomes
Why building independent Black institutions may matter more than trying to survive broken ones
Kehinde also connects the conversation to the launch of Bridge Black Studies, a new independent center created after his exit from Birmingham City University, and explains why this moment is about building outside the gatekeepers, not waiting for permission. If you care about Black education, community responsibility, or the limits of respectability politics, this episode is essential listening. It is sharp, candid, and deeply personal, with big questions about how we protect our children and build something better for the next generation.
Find out more and support BRIDGE Black Studies https://bridgeblackstudies.com/
Read Nikole Hannah Jones piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/magazine/ny-public-schools-black-students-segregation.html
1619 Project: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html Join us for
Make it Plain live at the Legacy Centre in Birmingham, Nov 6, 6pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-reasoning-room-tickets-2002813353655
Join us for the Harambee OBU Annual General Meeting 21st October 2.30pm https://HarambeeOBUAGM26.eventbrite.co.uk Join Harambee OBU: www.blackunity.org.uk
Written and hosted by: Kehinde Andrews
Edited by: Kadiri Andrews
Artwork by: Assata Andrews
