Karen Hunter facts for kids
Karen Hunter (born April 24, 1966) is an American journalist, talk show host, and publisher. She has also co-authored several non-fiction books. She is well-known for hosting The Karen Hunter Show on SiriusXM Urban View.
Early Life and Education
Karen Hunter grew up in East Orange, New Jersey. She finished high school at Marylawn of the Oranges High School in 1983. Later, in 1987, she earned a degree in English literature from Drew University.
Career Highlights
Between 1996 and 1998, Karen Hunter taught journalism. She shared her knowledge with students at New York University.
She worked for four years on the editorial board of the New York Daily News. In 1999, she was part of news teams that won two big awards. These were the Pulitzer Prize and the Polk Award. Before this, she was the first African-American woman to write news columns for the paper. She started at the newspaper in 1988 as a sports writer. Then, she wrote about features and business.
In 2002, Hunter College made her an Assistant Visiting Professor. She taught in the Department of Film and Media Studies. Today, she is a Distinguished Lecturer at Hunter College. She also hosted a morning radio talk show in New York City for three years.
Radio and Publishing Work
In 2006, Karen Hunter left her job as a morning talk show host. She worked at the New York station WWRL (1600 AM).
In 2007, she started her own publishing company. It is called Karen Hunter Publishing. It works with Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster. She has helped publish many books. Some titles include Why Black Men Love White Women and Recipes for a Good Life with Patti LaBelle. As a writer, Karen Hunter has co-authored five books. These books became New York Times bestsellers. She worked with famous people like Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, and Wendy Williams.
On January 31, 2007, Hunter appeared on CNN's Paula Zahn Now. She talked about atheists in America. She suggested that everyone should feel included.
On April 11, 2011, Hunter called for a boycott of Celebrity Apprentice. This was because of comments Donald Trump made about Barack Obama. She explained that she wanted people to know they have power. She felt they could do more than just complain.
In 2015, Hunter started a petition on MoveOn.org. She asked for the Confederate flag to be removed. This flag was at the South Carolina State House. This happened after nine people were killed at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. In just three days, 500,000 people signed her petition. This was one of the fastest petitions to reach that many signatures on MoveOn.org. A few days later, Governor Nikki Haley announced the flag would be removed. The South Carolina state legislature then voted to take down the flag.
During the 2016 presidential election, Ben Carson was a Republican candidate. He shared a story on The Karen Hunter Show. He said he was held at gunpoint at a Popeyes restaurant. Carson told Hunter he told the robber to go to the cashier instead.
Personal Life
Karen Hunter lives in South Orange, New Jersey.
