Known for her successes as a journalist, author, and professor, Pamela Newkirk has built a fascinating and commendable career for herself. Starting at a young age, Pamela gained a distinct interest in African American culture and history, which she later combined with her strong skills in journalism to become a new reporter and writer.

Ms. Newkirk started her journalism career in Albany, working for The Knickerbocker, and soon made her way to Washington D.C., reporting for Gannett News Service and covering the the Democratic National Convention in 1988. In 1990, Pamela was selected to go abroad to South Africa with Reverend Jesse Jackson, where she witnessed Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. Her New York Post articles written about Nelson Mandela helped her team earn the honorable International Reporting Award from the New York Association of Black Journalists.

As an intellectual with a strong passion for her subjects, Pamela Newkirk has had many academic achievements. She earned her Bachelors Degree in journalism at NYU and later went on to receive a Master’s Degree in journalism and a Ph.D.in Comparative and International Education from Columbia University.

Over the years, Ms. Newkirk has published various books that all deal with layered aspects of African American lives, specifically focusing on personal accounts of discrimination from a variety of African Americans. Her books include: Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media, A Love No Less, Letters from Black America and Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga. These works range from historical accounts of racism in the past to what it’s like to live in a modern society under the “veil,” a term W.E.B. DuBois first used to encapsulate what it’s like to be an African American in modern America, making a clear distinction between blacks, who he claims are born with a “double-consciousness,” and whites, who are not born with this veil. In A Love No Lessand Letters from Black America, Newkirk includes a multitude of letters that span over three centuries.

Ms. Newkirk currently resides in New York City with her husband, Michael Nairne, and two daughters, Marjani and Mykel. She works at NYU as a journalism professor and also serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies.