Vann R. Newkirk II (born December 27, 1988) is an American journalist and staff writer for ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' who writes on politics, the environment,

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

, and healthcare policy.

Early life

Vann Newkirk grew up in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of Dr. Vann Newkirk and Marylin Newkirk. He graduated from Morehouse College in 2010 and UNC-Chapel Hill with a Masters of Science in Public Health in Health Policy in 2012.

Career

Newkirk began his career as a policy analyst for the

Kaiser Family Foundation KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), also known as The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, is an American non-profit organization, headquartered in San Francisco, California. It prefers KFF since its legal name can cause confusion as it is no longer a ...

, specializing in health policy issues. Newkirk was inspired to begin freelancing after the shooting of Michael Brown and subsequent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, and has been a staff writer for ''

'' magazine since 2016. In 2018, Newkirk helped produce a special commemorative issue of the magazine on

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

's legacy over the 50 years since King's assassination in 1968. , Newkirk was working on a longform

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

, exploring the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Newkirk has appeared as a guest on various media outlets, including ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'' and shows on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, and has been a host or keynote speaker at a number of conferences on

and

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...

at universities throughout the United States. Newkirk also founded and is a contributing editor to Seven Scribes, a website dedicated to promoting writers and artists of color.

Personal life

Newkirk lives in

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper ...

with his wife and family. He is an aspiring science fiction writer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newkirk, Vann R. American male essayists American male journalists Living people Morehouse College alumni UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health alumni People from Rocky Mount, North Carolina The Atlantic (magazine) people Writers from North Carolina 21st-century American male writers 1988 births