Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah
Ghansah at the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes
Born	1981
Occupation	Essayist
Education	Columbia University
Website
The Uncollected Works of RKG

Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah (born in 1982) is an American writer known for her essays. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2018. This award was for her detailed article about a difficult event in Charleston, South Carolina. She also won a National Magazine Award. In 2014, she was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for her article about comedian Dave Chappelle. Her first book, The Explainers and the Explorers, will be published soon.

Early Life and Education

Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah spent her early years in Indiana. Later, she moved to Philadelphia when she was in elementary school. She went to Greene Street Friends School. Her mother's family is from Louisiana. Her grandmother moved from Louisiana to live with them in Philadelphia. Rachel's father is Ghanaian, with Fanti and Ga family roots. Her mother is a professor.

Starting Her Career

Early in her career, Ghansah worked with music artists like Rich Nichols and The Roots. She also worked with dream hampton. Tariq Trotter, also known as Black Thought, was an early guide for her writing. He gave her advice when she was a teenager, like using a thesaurus to improve her vocabulary. She says working with rappers taught her about the rhythm of writing.

After this, she became a public school teacher. But she later returned to writing. She was the first African-American intern at Harper's Magazine. In 2011, she earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in writing from Columbia University. She has also taught writing at several universities. These include Columbia University, Yale University, Bard College, and Eugene Lang College.

Her Work as a Journalist

Ghansah is well-known for her long articles about different people. She has written about famous figures like Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, and Toni Morrison. She also wrote about Jean-Michel Basquiat and Chirlane McCray. Her essays have covered topics like Beyoncé's fans and Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios. She also wrote about James Baldwin's historic home in France.

Her essay about James Baldwin was chosen for The Best American Essays in 2017. It was also in a 2016 collection called The Fire This Time. Critics have praised her writing. The New York Times called her work "alive with purpose, conviction, and intellect."

Many publications have praised Ghansah's writing. The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and Brooklyn Magazine have all highlighted her work. Editors at Brooklyn Magazine said they would start a list of the best journalism with her articles. KQED called her "one of the most brilliant essayists writing in America today." Longreads described her as an "unparalleled architect of the profile." They noted her ability to balance details, emotion, and story. Novelist Zadie Smith also praised Ghansah in a 2016 Elle UK article. Smith said Ghansah "always understood that to make your writing stand out online you just need to write better than everyone else. And she does."

In 2014, her article about comedian Dave Chappelle was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. This article was also included in The Best American Nonrequired Reading (2014). New York magazine called her Chappelle essay a "classic." A critic named Stephanie Fields noted that Ghansah's early articles showed her detailed writing style. They also provided a context for Black art and life. Her work often explores how Black artists control their own stories.

In 2018, Ghansah helped organize an event for the MoMA. It was called "Woman's Work." This event celebrated Black womanhood and talent. It featured work by artists like Julie Dash and Kandis Williams.

In 2019, Ghansah received the American Mosaic Journalism Prize. This award gives $100,000 to journalists. She won for her "deeply reported and essayistic writing." Her work covers topics from a profile of painter Henry Taylor to her reporting on a serious event in Charleston, South Carolina. The award recognized her power of observation and detailed writing.

Pulitzer Prize for Her Reporting

In late 2016, Ghansah spent three months in Charleston, South Carolina. She was reporting for GQ magazine. Her article focused on a challenging event that happened there. The Columbia Journalism Review said her reporting was "deserving of all the praise it is getting." They called it a top example of reporting on difficult social issues. The Guardian praised it as "an incredible piece of reporting."

In 2018, this article and her profile of Missy Elliott were finalists for the National Magazine Awards. The GQ story won the award for best feature. It also won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. The Pulitzer committee recognized her for "an unforgettable portrait" that used reporting, personal thoughts, and analysis of historical forces. This helped explain a tragic event that occurred at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C.

Her Upcoming Book

Ghansah is currently working on her first book, The Explainers and the Explorers. This book will explore how Black America defines itself in the 21st century. It will be a two-volume series published by Random House.

Selected Articles

• "He Shall Overcome: Jay-Z Is $450M Beyond The Marcy Projects. Where Does He Go From Here?", Observer, 2010.
• "If He Hollers Let Him Go: Searching for Dave Chappelle ten years after he left his own show", The Believer, 2013.
• "When the Lights Shut Off: Kendrick Lamar and the Decline of the Black Blues Narrative", Los Angeles Review of Books, 2013.
• "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You: The BeyHive", NPR, 2014.
• "Chirlane McCray and the Limits of First-Ladyship", The New York Times Magazine, 2016.
• "A River Runs Through It: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios, Its Ownership, and Other Black Memories", The Believer, 2015.
• "The Radical Vision of Toni Morrison", The New York Times Magazine, 2015.
• "The Weight of James Arthur Baldwin", Buzzfeed, 2016.
• "Her Eyes Were Watching the Stars", Elle, 2017.
• "A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof", GQ, 2017.
• "Henry Taylor’s Wild Heart Can’t Be Broken", Vulture, 2018.