We’re delighted to announce that Ayanna Johnson Watkins has joined MLK50: Justice Through Journalism as co-executive director. Along with Adrienne Johnson Martin, Watkins will lead the digital newsroom, managing the business and operations side. She’ll work, too, with development manager Lyndsey Pender.
Watkins has served and led in the nonprofit arena for over 20 years as a social worker, clergy person and community organizer. In 2019, she became the first lead organizer and executive director of Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, where she stayed for five years. She is also an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
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“I have admired the work of MLK50 for a long while — the issues MLK50 covered, yes, but also the impact of that coverage on real lives in Memphis,” Watkins said. “As a community organizer, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how having a news outlet that focused on systemic injustice could itself advance the cause of justice in our community.”
Watkins said she sees her role at MLK50 as a strategic partner with Martin, positioning the organization to be a leading voice and vehicle for justice in Memphis and beyond. Founder Wendi C. Thomas, she noted, created a newsroom to interrogate poverty and inequitable systems to serve the communities affected by them. “I want to build on that incredible foundation by developing a map forward in this next season, expanding our connection to the community and deepening the impact of MLK50 within our communities,” Watkins said.
Community, Watkins said, is at the core of who she is. “My whole life is a testament to the life-giving and life-affirming power of community. I started out professionally in social service and pastoral ministry as a way of paying forward the gift of community that saved me, eventually transitioning into justice movement work as an organizer seeking to transform systems that destroy those very communities.
“Being part of the team at MLK50 allows me to continue in the work of transformation — from a new position in the movement.”
This story is brought to you byMLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today. MLK50 is also supported by these generous donors.