Jennifer Berry Hawes
I often write about racial inequities across the South but am interested in a broad range of systemic harm.
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I am especially interested in Hurricane Helene and issues related to preparedness and rebuilding.
What I Cover
I’m currently writing about Hurricane Helene, both its impact and its aftermath. I am interested in issues related to preparedness and response to natural disasters and other mass-casualty events.
My Background
I have spent almost all of my career writing about the South, and I care deeply about the region and its people. Prior to ProPublica, I worked at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, most recently as a watchdog and public service reporter. I was part of the team that won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for public service for the series “Till Death Do Us Part,” which examined South Carolina’s failure to protect women from often-fatal domestic violence. I also was a 2019 Pulitzer finalist for feature writing, along with fellow reporter Deanna Pan, for our series “An Undying Mystery” about the youngest person ever executed in South Carolina.
I also reported extensively on the Emanuel AME Church mass shooting in 2015, when a racist gunman murdered nine people during Bible study at one of the country’s oldest Black churches. My 2019 book stemming from that reporting, “Grace Will Lead Us Home,” won the Christopher Award and Audie Award for nonfiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
I am based in South Carolina.
Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools.
Seventy years after Brown v. Board, Black and white residents, in Camden, Alabama, say they would like to see their children schooled together. But after so long apart, they aren’t sure how to make it happen.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes, photography by Sarahbeth Maney,
How a Grad Student Uncovered the Largest Known Slave Auction in the U.S.
Lauren Davila made a stunning discovery as a graduate student at the College of Charleston: an ad for a slave auction larger than any historian had yet identified. The find yields a new understanding of the enormous harm of such a transaction.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes, photography by Gavin McIntyre for ProPublica,
How Many of Your State’s Lawmakers Are Women? If You Live in the Southeast, It Could Be Just 1 in 5.
A record number of women were elected to statehouses last year. But in the Southeast, where some legislatures are more than 80% male, representation is lagging as lawmakers pass bills that most impact women, like near-total abortion bans.
How South Carolina Ended Up With an All-Male Supreme Court
An abortion ban struck down. The lone female justice retiring. And a majority-male legislature rallying behind the one male candidate to replace her. This is how South Carolina ended up with an all-male Supreme Court as new abortion legislation looms.
Women Made Electoral Gains in Statehouses Across the Country in 2024. The Southeast Is a Different Story.
All but one state that held legislative elections last fall in the Southeast saw losses of Republican women. In South Carolina, that means the Senate Republican caucus, which will make decisions that directly affect women, is an all-men’s club.
How Segregated Are Your Local Private Schools? We Made a Tool to Help You Find Out.
Our reporters mined a trove of data that revealed detailed demographic information about private schools. That helped us find illuminating stories about how those schools divide communities.
The Story of One Mississippi County Shows How Private Schools Are Exacerbating Segregation
A new ProPublica analysis shows a stark pattern across states in the Deep South: Alongside majority-Black public school districts, a separate web of private academies are filled almost entirely with white students.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes, data analysis by Nat Lash, with additional reporting by Mollie Simon,
Segregation Academies in Mississippi Are Benefiting From Public Dollars, as They Did in the 1960s
ProPublica identified 20 schools in the state that likely opened as segregation academies and have received almost $10 million over the past six years from the state’s tax credit donation program.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon,
Segregation Academies Across the South Are Getting Millions in Taxpayer Dollars
North Carolina offers an especially telling window into what is happening across this once legally segregated region where legislatures are now rapidly expanding and adopting controversial voucher-style programs.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon,
Charleston Unveils Historical Marker at the Site of Firm That Held the Largest Known U.S. Slave Trade
As a graduate student at the College of Charleston, Lauren Davila found an ad for the auction of 600 enslaved people. A ProPublica story last year revealed her discovery and unearthed the identity of the family responsible for the sale.
In a Town Full of Segregation Academies, One Black Family Grapples With the Best School Choice for Their Daughter
Schools in Macon, Georgia, are still largely segregated. Zo’e Johnson’s family is torn over whether they can afford for her to stay at her mostly white private school — and whether the cost makes sense.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes, photography by Sarahbeth Maney,
These Researchers Study the Legacy of the Segregation Academies They Grew Up Around
Three young academics in Alabama are examining these mostly white private schools through the lenses of economics, education and history to better understand the persistent division of schools in the South.
How an Alabama Town Staved Off School Resegregation
In the 1970s, Black students organized protests and a boycott that cost local white businesses money. Today, many families who could afford private school still choose Thomasville’s public schools.
How Residents in a Rural Alabama County Are Confronting the Lasting Harm of Segregation Academies
In Wilcox County, Alabama, many people say they want to bridge racial divides created by their segregated schools. But they must face a long and painful history.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes, photography by Sarahbeth Maney,