She also discussed her upcoming book, which focuses on the story of Ota Benga, an Imbutu pygmy tribesman, who was put on display in the Bronx Zoo monkey house at the turn of the century. She described the resulting news stories and books, which were filled with racial stereotypes, inaccuracies, and misrepresentations. Ms. Newkirk shared primary documents she found while researching her book on the topic, which uncovered the truth about Benga's dehumanizing mistreatment and exploitation.  

 

A parent of two Dalton graduates, Ms. Newkirk was excited to return Dalton and have the opportunity to speak with students and faculty.  She was especially impressed with student questions in the final portion of the assembly.

 

Ms. Newkirk is professor of journalism and director of undergraduate studies at New York University and the author of Within the Veil: Black Journalists, White Media, which was awarded the 2001 National Press Club Award for Media Criticism. She more recently edited Letters from Black America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009) and (A Love No Less: More Than Two Centuries of African-American Letters (Doubleday 2003) and is working on another book about Mr. Benga to be published by Harper Collins in 2014.  She is widely quoted about media diversity and African American portrayals, and her articles have appeared in numerous publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, and ARTnews.  Before joining the faculty of New York University she worked as a reporter at four news organizations including New York Newsday where in 1991 she was part of a Pulitzer Prize winning team. She was named the 2004/2005 Alfred Knobler Fellow at the Nation Institute where she is still a Fellow.  Her upcoming book,  Spectacle: The Man in the Monkey House, is scheduled to be published in 2014.