The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy
Jonathan Hicks, a senior fellow at the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College and former political reporter for The New York Times, has received funding from the Ford Foundation to travel to Liberia to conduct a symposium on political and election reporting in advance of that country’s 2011 presidential election.This is the second time Mr. Hicks has received funding from the Ford Foundation to do projects in Liberia. He traveled to the West African country a year ago on a grant from the Ford Foundation to do reporting about the redevelopment of Liberia following nearly 14 years of civil conflict. Upon his return, Mr. Hicks established a scholarship fund for aspiring journalists studying in the mass communications department of the University of Liberia.
Jonathan Hicks is also the host of Urban Focus, a weekly radio program in conjunction with DBC on Medgar Evers College Radio. While in Liberia, Mr. Hicks also will do reporting that will be broadcast on Urban Focus and on DBC’s web site. Through interviews with politicians, policy makers, industry practitioners, scholars and expert analysts, Urban Focus explores a range of issues that affect underserved communities and communities of color from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to Cape Town, South Africa. The show is broadcast every Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and programs are archived on the DuBois Bunche Center’s website at www.duboisbunche.org.
Mr. Hicks has had about 30 years of experience covering politics, business, industry and the role of people of color in the world of business. For 24 years, he worked for The New York Times, where he covered the politics of New York State and New York City. During that time, he developed a reputation as one of the foremost authorities on the inner workings of the political culture in New York City and New York State. He has been a frequent guest on local radio and television news programs where he regularly offered political analysis and commentary.
He also was the author of the Politics 5-B column for The Times’ website. He is also the scriptwriter for “Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace,” a documentary by Channel Productions that looks at the behind-the-scenes events behind the historic Camp David accord between Egypt, Israel and the United States. The film was selected to open the 2009 Monte Carlo Television Festival. He is also the co-editor of From Disaster to Diversity: What’s Next for New York City’s Economy?
Mr. Hicks has been a guest lecturer at a number of colleges and universities, including the London School of Printing, Columbia University, Swarthmore College, Southern University, and the University of Missouri. He has also been a member of the visiting faculty at the Maynard Institute Summer Program for Minority Journalists at the University of California at Berkeley and the Century Foundation’s Century Institute Summer Program at Williams College.
Before coming to The Times, Mr. Hicks was a business reporter for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, where he covered a wide range of topics from labor to manufacturing. Prior to that, he was a general assignment reporter at The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, where he had previously been an announcer at a National Public Radio affiliate station.
About the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College, CUNY
The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy (DBC) is dedicated to forging and highlighting solutions to the challenges confronting people of color living within urban communities in the United States and throughout the African Diaspora. DBC produces research, formulates policies, sponsors conferences, and produces public affairs media programming that seeks to advance economic and social justice.
