1619 Project author charged library $40k for 45 min speech, sending it over-budget
- October 29, 2022
Joshua Shin, adnAmerica
Former New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones was paid $40,000 for a 45-minute speech at a high school near the university she works at – and threatened a $100,000 penalty if it was recorded.
The Daily Wire reports that her speech was part of a three-hour event in September at Washington Liberty High School in Arlington, Virginia, which is only eight miles from Howard University, where she is a tenured professor.
Hannah-Jones also had an opportunity to promote her new book, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story.
Although it was held at a school, the talk was part of a program run by the Arlington Public Library. The exorbitant speaking fee reportedly sent the library over budget by $7,500.
Internal communications reviewed by the Daily Wire showed that Hannah-Jones’ speech created tensions between the library and Friends of the Library, the non-profit that raises money to fund library activities like author events,