(C) Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural
This story was originally published by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
In Remembrance: Janie Ekere, 1998-2024 [1]
['Staff', 'The Daily Yonder', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar']
Date: 2024-12-31 18:20:57+00:00
Janie Ekere, who was a Daily Yonder Rural Reporting Fellow in 2023, was a tenacious young journalist who strived to give the underdog a fair shake.
Janie died in her sleep December 10, 2024, at the age of 25, according to The American Prospect. At the time of her death, Janie was the John Lewis Writing Fellow at the Prospect.
Janie was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a political science degree in 2022. Besides working for the Daily Yonder and The American Prospect, she also interned with the North Carolina Green Party during college.
Janie’s journalism career was tragically brief. But from her foreshortened body of work, it’s possible to see the patterns in Janie’s interests.
At the Yonder, Janie took every opportunity to report on people who were trying to make their communities better and more just. She wrote about topics such as the power of community organizing in rural America, the efforts of small-town residents to protect public education in her home state of North Carolina, and the role of local journalism in enlivening democracy. She also assisted with audio production for our weekly radio news program, the Yonder Report.
At the Prospect, Janie wrote about the difficulty of running for office without personal wealth, state efforts to reform predatory lending, the potential of Black congregations to play a role in climate justice, and more.
Like the rest of the Yonder staff, Janie worked remotely. She was a quiet but regular presence in our frequent newsroom online huddles. We were all able to enjoy her company face to face in two staff gatherings held during her tenure here. Besides her journalism skills, she was the person you wanted on your team at a trivia contest, according to our staff.
Janie’s death is a harsh reminder that none of us can predict the future. Janie’s courage and personal values are obvious in her work, so we can perhaps see some indication of how the arc of her professional life might have played out. We are all poorer for her loss.
Our hearts go out to Janie’s family and friends, to whom we offer our deepest sympathies.
A celebration of Janie’s life will be held January 11, 2025, in Greensboro, North Carolina. The family has established a fundraising campaign to help pay for funeral expenses.
Related
Republish This Story Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
http://dailyyonder.com/in-remembrance-janie-ekere-1998-2024/2024/12/31/
Published and (C) by Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailyyonder/
