This story was updated on May 27, 2025, with the correct spelling of Tyré Nichols name.
It’s a transformative week at MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. As we reported today, our beloved founder Wendi C. Thomas is readying for a well-deserved sabbatical before transitioning back into the newsroom as an investigative editor.
The MLK50 team has spent the last four years planning and building for this exciting moment. We’ve grown our staff to a mighty team of 10, solidified a financial runway to sustain a $2.4 million operating budget and sharpened what it means to fight for justice through journalism. Thomas’ return to reporting, where she causes the most good trouble, signals a new era of leadership.
After significant strategic planning throughout 2023 to chart the course for our newsroom, we have decided to move into a co-leadership model. We believe this model reflects our values and purpose while setting us up to be sustainable for the long haul. We are seeking to embody the proverb that if you want to go further, go together.
So who is the dynamic duo taking the reins? We’re glad you asked.
After years of leading our reporting team to new heights, Executive Editor Adrienne Johnson Martin will step into one of the co-executive director roles. In this new position Martin will be in charge of the vision and strategy of our long-term editorial goals. Martin is the right leader to meet the moment and deepen the impact of our reporting as we go harder on practices and policies that keep people poor.
“To now have the opportunity to lead the editorial side of the organization feels magical. And exciting,” Martin said. “Nearly every day, I have a new thought of how this team can achieve our mission of helping working-class people thrive. We are just at the beginning of our journey to connect with the community and join with folk to reimagine what Memphis can be.”
As executive editor, Martin has led with the care and brilliance we needed as the newsroom underwent significant growth. Martin has stretched us to transform our beats and helped sharpen what it means to serve Memphians. Highlights of her tenure include:
- Coaching our housing reporter, Jacob Steimer, to deepen his tenant-focused beat. Martin helped Steimer deliver powerful series such as No Shelter as a way to undo harmful narratives around Memphians experiencing housing instability.
- Ensuring future narratives about Memphis include important histories that are often erased. Martin recruited contributors such as Justin A. Davis to produce a distinctly Memphis hip-hop series, and Zandria F. Robinson to reflect on Tyré Nichols’ life.
- Using Martin Luther King Jr.’s Beloved Community as a lens to examine local collective power. One standout example is Martin’s work with contributor Ashante Reese on food abundance and how everyday people can create communities of care.
- Shining a light on those who pay the toll for the injustice of the status quo. Martin ensured MLK50 told the story of Almeer Nance, who at 16 was sent to state prison for 51 plus 25 years. Martin chose this story because she believes it’s important for all of us to understand what we lose when we give up on our young people.
Prior to joining MLK50 in September 2021, Martin was the managing editor at Duke University’s alumni magazine for eight years; her work there mostly involved editing longform narratives.
“About three years ago, I felt like I was sitting on the sidelines in an increasingly troubled world, not doing enough to make it more equitable, more just, more peaceful for my son’s generation. When I discovered MLK50, I knew that this is where I not only wanted to be, but was meant to be,” she said. “I feel really lucky that I get to be a part of MLK50 at this moment. And I also feel really ready.”
Martin’s first journalism job was at a trade magazine, where she also became the managing editor. After leaving that position to attend Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Adrienne was hired as a copy editor — who also occasionally wrote — at the Los Angeles Times. There, she edited copy on the features and news desks. Her editing on the paper’s coverage of the Northridge earthquake earned her a piece of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for spot news.
In 1997, Martin moved to Raleigh, N.C., to join The News & Observer as the paper’s radio, television and film reporter. While there, she won a first-place American Association of Sunday and Feature Writers award — at the time, the first in the paper’s history. She pivoted to editing after the birth of her son, first leading the daily features section, then the weekly entertainment tabloid.
As Martin assumes one of the co-executive director roles to lead our editorial efforts, we are hiring a co-executive director who will lead MLK50’s business and operations. This new leadership role will supervise our development director and other members of the business-operations team. We are seeking a bold candidate who has a proven record of success in justice-oriented, nonprofit leadership. We are working with recruitment firm Koya Partners to hire this other co-executive director. You can read more about the role and apply via Koya Partner’s website here.
Please note: The ONLY way to apply for this position is through Koya’s portal.