The Supreme Court’s decision this summer to strike down affirmative action in higher education has had a chilling effect on racial equity efforts in the public and private sectors. Long considered a tool to correct systemic discrimination, affirmative action programs everywhere are at risk, advocates worry. Now, conservative activists are trying to block programs that […]
Author Archives: Melissa Hellmann
Melissa Hellmann is an award-winning reporter who covers racial, gender and economic inequality. Prior to joining the Center for Public Integrity in August 2021, she covered marginalized communities for The Seattle Times.
She previously worked at Seattle Weekly, the Associated Press, YES! Magazine, TIME Asia, and SF Weekly. Her reporting has taken her to the homes of migrant families in the outskirts of Beijing, China; Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank; and a Tacoma, Washington, detention center where detained immigrants alleged their medical needs were ignored. In 2019 she helped restart the Seattle Association of Black Journalists after several years of dormancy.
Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and religious studies from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
