WATCH: Nikole Hannah-Jones interrogates Chancellor Kamar Samuels on NYC school integration

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New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones cross-examined New York City schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels this week at a town hall focused on integration.

Hannah-Jones repeatedly pressed the chancellor on whether he had a plan to integrate the nation’s largest system, which is also among the most segregated. Samuels argued that any desegregation efforts must start with community-level buy-in rather than top-down mandates.

His lack of specifics earned him jeers from the roughly 800 attendees at Manhattan’s Washington Irving campus for the event convened by pro-integration advocacy group New York Appleseed and The Bell, a student journalism organization.

Samuels pointed to integration efforts he led as superintendent in District 3, covering the Upper West Side, and in District 13, spanning from Brooklyn Heights to Bedford-Stuyvesant.

But Hannah-Jones didn’t let him rest on his laurels.

“There is no buck to be passed now. You head the system,” she said. “So while I appreciate the work you have done, today we want to talk about the work you will do.”

Watch the full interview below, and check out Chalkbeat’s five takeaways from their conversation.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at [email protected].

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization covering public education.