My name is Mili Mansaray, and I serve as Senior Editor + Director of Radical Media Initiatives at The Kansas City Defender. I help lead our newsroom’s editorial coverage and work across our media and community programs to shape how our journalism shows up in the world.
Ten years ago, when it was time for me to choose what I wanted to study in undergrad, I set my sights on journalism. Coming of age as a Black woman in 2016 meant being awakened in a very particular way. Donald Trump was in the running to become president. We were still grappling with the killings of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, and so many others. In my hometown, Columbia, SC, Black women were climbing flagpoles outside the state house to take down Confederate flags themselves.
It felt like the world was shifting, and I wanted to be a part of it. As a creative writer, I knew there was a field that sat at the intersection of storytelling and change…