Tracy Clayton named Wells Media Expert-in-Residence
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Tracy Clayton, writer, humorist, and co-host of the nationally recognized podcast Another Round, has been named the 2016-2017 Ida B. Wells Media Expert-in-Residence for the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University.
Named for famed anti-lynching advocate Ida B. Wells-Barnett, the Wells Residency develops a year-long relationship between the Anna Julia Cooper Center and a journalist with a record of compelling work about Southern issues and an eye on gender and racial equality.
During the residency, the Wells Expert-in-Residence produces writing or media, engages with students and community and shares expertise with faculty.
As part of her yearlong residency, Clayton will visit Wake Forest on Nov. 14-18. Her visit, immediately on the heels of the election, will include public events with faculty, students, and community members encouraging broad, engaging conversations in her signature style of humor and insight. Prior to her visit, Clayton will engage the Wake Forest community through high profile social media events, and a small group of media interns will travel to New York City to work directly with her. Additional events are planned for spring.
“The Anna Julia Cooper Center is thrilled that Tracy has agreed to be an integral part of our media, race, and gender conversations,” said Maya Angelou Presidential Professor Melissa Harris-Perry, who is the center’s director. “She brings a generational sensibility reflecting the experiences of our students, a Southern identity informing her analysis, and a deep curiosity that leads her audiences to both hilarious and insightful conclusions. Clayton’s work is perfectly positioned at the nexus of a changing media landscape that raises critical questions about race and gender in both form and content. I can’t wait to see what new ideas Clayton sparks for our students and community.”
The residency emphasizes and embraces the pivotal role journalism plays as a way to advance justice— echoing Wells’ belief that “the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”
“It is an immense honor to have been chosen as the AJC Center’s media expert-in-residence,” said Clayton.
Clayton is from Louisville, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Transylvania University. In 2014, she joined BuzzFeed and is co-host of the podcast Another Round. The show has been praised as wry, witty and intelligent.
In 2016, Another Round scored big inter-views, including Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The Cooper Center is an interdisciplinary center at Wake Forest University.
