On Jan. 29, professor Ty Rushing attended the George Washington Carver Medal Ceremony at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa to participate in a panel discussion. The award is annually given to an individual that “…exemplifies the commitment and vision of service of George Washington Carver.” Carver is a Simpson College alum and lived in Indianola, Iowa.

This year’s recipient, Iowa-native, journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, was recognized for her work on civil rights, racial equity, and Black American history, including The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2020.

Following the success of The 1619 Project, Hannah-Jones started a collaboration with The New York Times Magazine on an in depth series about race in America. Despite its success, however, Rushing notes that the series was controversial because it “…center[s] the founding of America on blackness rather than the story we’ve always been told.” 

The Carver Medal Ceremony featured a panel, including panelists Hannah-Jones, Rushing, Amy Duncan from the Indianola Independent Advocate, and Steffi Lee from KCCI 8 News.

“…A lot of the questions were talking about objectivity and covering news, how do you deal with kind of covering news and trying times? And then just the kind of effort it takes to build the kind of work it takes to tell diverse stories in media while also dealing with the blow back from that,” Rushing said.

He adds that it is important for journalists to tell diverse stories, something he has worked for in his own career. “I'm telling the story of the entire community. So, I went out of my way to make sure I'm telling stories about other people in the community who may not look like most, you know, the most of the community. And, you know, obviously it takes a little bit of extra effort, but it's worth and it's worthwhile because you're developing extra relationships.”

In addition to connection, he explains, “That means you're getting more sources. That means you're going to get the capabilities to tell more stories. And it's really good too, as a person who needed to help educate your audience on the topic or an issue…And a lot of times, you find out about something that maybe you weren’t quite aware of, and you expand your horizons.”

For students, Rushing suggests finding a mentor. “A lot of times just having someone you can talk to and express yourself to in a comfortable setting where you feel relaxed, that helps a lot.” 

In his own experience, “…having someone who could relate to what you're going through and understand what you're going through and then just be able to, you know, have that sense of community. It was great.”