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Michele Norris

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For the British soldier, see Michelle Norris.
Michele Norris
Born
Michele Lisa Norris

(1961-09-07) September 7, 1961 (age 63)
Hennepin County, Minnesota, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Minnesota (BA)
OccupationJournalist
Notable credit(s)The Washington Post
All Things Considered
ABC News
The Chicago Tribune
The Los Angeles Times
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1993)​

Michele L. Norris (/ˈmiːʃɛl/ MEE-shel;[1] born September 7, 1961) is an American journalist. From 2019 to 2024 Norris was an opinion columnist with The Washington Post.[2][3] She co-hosted National Public Radio's evening news program All Things Considered from 2002 to 2011 and was the first African-American female host for NPR.[4] Before that Norris was a correspondent for ABC News, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. Norris is a member of the Peabody Awards board of directors.[5]

Early life

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Norris was born in Hennepin County, Minnesota, to Elizabeth Jean "Betty" and Belvin Norris Jr. Her mother is a fourth-generation Minnesotan and her father is from Alabama.[6] Belvin served in the Navy in World War II.[7] Norris attended Washburn High School in Minneapolis, and later the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she first studied electrical engineering, before transferring to the University of Minnesota where she majored in journalism and mass communications.[4]

Career

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At the University of Minnesota, Norris wrote for the Minnesota Daily and then became a reporter for WCCO-TV.[4]

Norris wrote for The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. In 1990, while at The Washington Post, Norris received the Livingston Award for articles she wrote about the life of a six-year-old boy who lived with a crack-addicted mother in a crack house.[8]

From 1993 to 2002, Norris was a news correspondent for ABC News, winning an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for coverage of the September 11 attacks.[4]

NPR

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Norris joined the NPR evening news program All Things Considered on December 9, 2002, becoming the first African-American female host for NPR.[4] In 2015, Fortune described Norris as "one of [NPR's] biggest stars".[9]

Norris's coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath won acclaim early in her time at NPR.[10] She moderated a Democratic presidential debate in Iowa, alongside Steve Inskeep and Robert Siegel.[11] In 2008, Norris teamed with Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep for The York Project: Race & The '08 Vote. Inskeep and Norris share an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award silver baton award.[12] While at NPR, Norris interviewed a range of politicians and celebrities, including President Barack Obama,[13] Susan Rice,[14] Quincy Jones,[15] and Joan Rivers[16] among others.

Norris announced on October 24, 2011, that she would temporarily step down from her All Things Considered hosting duties and refrain from involvement in any NPR political coverage during the 2012 election year because of her husband's appointment to the Barack Obama 2012 presidential reelection campaign.[17] On January 3, 2013, NPR announced that Norris had stepped down as a regular host of All Things Considered and would instead serve as an occasional host and special correspondent.[18]

The Race Card Project

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The Race Card Project, begun by Norris in 2010 while she was at NPR, invited people to submit comments on their experience of race in the United States in six words.[19] Norris and collaborators won a 2014 Peabody Award for the project.[20]

In December 2015, Norris left NPR to focus on the Race Card Project.[21] In July 2020, Simon & Schuster announced a book deal for the project, which would include a related children's book.[22] That book--Our Hidden Conversation What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity--was released in January 2024, and is based on Norris's collection of hundreds of thousands of hidden conversations for The Race Card Project archive.[23]

Norris, with Chuck Holmes, Melissa Bear, Adrian Kinloch, and Walter Ray Watson, accepts the Peabody Award for "The Race Card Project".

The Grace of Silence

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Norris is also the author of The Grace of Silence,[24] a memoir and reported non-fiction book that started as an extension of the Race Card Project.[25] In the book Norris writes of discovering her father's shooting by a Birmingham police officer and also her maternal grandmother's job as an itinerant Aunt Jemima.[26]

Awards

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Personal life

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Norris lives in the District of Columbia with her husband, Broderick D. Johnson, the former White House Cabinet Secretary for President Barack Obama,[30] and her daughter, son, and stepson.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Hepola, Sarah (2007). "Heart of Glass: My sexual fantasies about NPR". Nerve. p. 2. Take Michele Norris, co-host of All Things Considered... there was the contrarian pronunciation of her first name, MEE-shell, which was staunchly enforced by every guest, all of whom must have been given a 10-minute primer prior to air.
  2. ^ "Michele Norris joins Post Opinions as contributor and consultant". The Washington Post. December 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Reich, Greta (October 27, 2024). "Second Post columnist resigns while others defend publication". Politico. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Michele Norris Biography". The HistoryMakers. May 2, 2008. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "Who We Are". Grady College and University of Georgia. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Norris, Michele L. (December 9, 2022). "Where do you really come from? That's a toxic question". Washington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2022. My mother is a fourth-generation Black woman from Minnesota, and my father was a Black man born and raised in Alabama.
  7. ^ Bonos, Lisa (September 19, 2010). ""The Grace of Silence," a memoir by Michele Norris". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  8. ^ "Reporter Honored for Articles On Child's Life in Crack House". Washington Post. June 7, 1990. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  9. ^ Groden, Claire (December 18, 2015). "NPR is Losing One of Its Biggest Stars". Fortune. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  10. ^ "Documenter and Documentee – Part Two". www.thirdcoastfestival.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  11. ^ "Transcript: NPR Democratic Candidates' Debate". NPR.org. December 4, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  12. ^ Steve Inskeep – Audio Books, Best Sellers, Author Bio.
  13. ^ "Transcript: Obama's Full Interview With NPR". NPR.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  14. ^ "Susan Rice: Stopping Al-Qaida Critical To U.S." NPR.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  15. ^ "In '08 Interview, Quincy Jones Reflects On Jackson". NPR.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  16. ^ "Joan Rivers: Outrageous and Outspoken as Ever". NPR.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  17. ^ "An Update for ATC Listeners", NPR. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  18. ^ Memmott, Mark (January 3, 2013). "NPR's Michele Norris Returning As Host/Special Correspondent". NPR.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  19. ^ Stelter, Brian (December 17, 2015). "Michele Norris leaving NPR, expanding her Race Card Project". CNN. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  20. ^ a b 73rd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2014.
  21. ^ Mullin, Benjamin (December 17, 2015). "Michele Norris is leaving NPR". Poytner. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  22. ^ Deahl, Rachel (July 17, 2020). "Book Deals: Week of July 20, 2020". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  23. ^ Norris, Michele (January 16, 2024). Our Hidden Conversations. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-5439-4.
  24. ^ Ciuraru, Camela (September 26, 2010). "'The Grace of Silence,' by Michele Norris". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  25. ^ Sragow, Michael. "Michele Norris' new book reveals 'The Grace of Silence'". The Baltimore Sun, September 24, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  26. ^ "The Grace of Silence by Michele Norris – Reading Guide: 9780307475275 – PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  27. ^ "National Association of Black Journalists". Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  28. ^ Gernstetter, Blake (April 28, 2009). "NABJ Names NPR's Michele Norris". AdWeek. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  29. ^ "Six will receive honorary degrees at Winter Commencement exercises". The University Record. University of Michigan. October 19, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  30. ^ "Broderick Johnson". whitehouse.gov. May 4, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  31. ^ "About Michele". Retrieved April 21, 2020.
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