For Nikole Hannah-Jones, the University of North Carolina’s tenure offer was too little, too late.

On Tuesday, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist announced that she was joining the faculty of Howard University, a  historically black college in Washington D.C.

Two months ago, UNC broke with tradition when they refused to extend Hannah-Jones tenure; previous journalists in the UNC role she was offered had received the coveted job-protection status.

UNC reversed their decision last week. But Hannah-Jones, a celebrated alum, turned it down. Instead, she’ll join Howard’s school of communications as the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Journalism. It’s a tenured position.

It was clear that UNC’s initial no-tenure position was influenced by political pressure. Hannah-Jones was the leader of The New York Times’ 1619 project, which seeks to center slavery in the history of the United States. Many conservatives insist that the project contains overstatements and misrepresentations.

Appearing on CBS This Morning (watch above), Hannah-Jones said, “This is not my fight. I fought the battle that I wanted to fight, which is I deserve to be treated equally and have a vote on my tenure. I won that battle, but it’s not my job to heal the University of North Carolina.”

In a statement, she added, “I am so incredibly honored to be joining one of the most important and storied educational institutions in our country. One of my few regrets is that I did not attend Howard as an undergraduate, and so coming here to teach fulfills a dream I have long carried.”

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Howard announced another recruiting win on Tuesday. Ta-Nehisi Coates, the celebrated writer and cultural commentator, will also join the faculty.  In Coates’ National Book Award-winning Between the World and Me, he discusses his undergraduate years at Howard in great detail.

“I heard a wise man once say, ‘A man who hates home will never be happy.’ And it is in the pursuit of wisdom and happiness that I return to join the esteemed faculty of Howard University. This is the faculty that molded me. This is the faculty that strengthened me,” Coates said in a statement.

The Washington Post provides context:

The appointments come at a moment of heightened visibility for historically Black universities. Vice President Harris is a Howard graduate. The university, founded two years after the end of the Civil War, and other historically Black colleges and universities have also been creating new programs and academic centers, making high-profile hires and drawing an influx of donations. Many of the gifts have set records and signaled to other potential donors that a sector of higher education long disenfranchised and marginalized is worthy of investment.

Hannah-Jones shared a similar sentiment.

“I hope that the decision that Ta-Nehisi and I made to bring our talents to an HBCU will lead others to make a similar choice,” she said.