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SAN DIEGO — In her keynote speech at the Council of the Great City Schools’ 67th Annual Fall Conference, Emmy Award-winning journalist Jemele Hill told urban educators that in her 2022 memoir she made it a point to thank several of her teachers in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

“Every teacher that I’ve ever had has impacted my life,” said Hill. She noted her creative writing teacher, Ms. Blackhawk, whom Hill said is responsible for her “being right here on this podium.”

Hill is the author of Uphill: A Memoir, which chronicles her journey from growing up in Detroit to becoming a sports columnist and eventually hosting SportsCenter, a daily sports news television program on ESPN. It was while attending Detroit’s Mumford High School that Hill developed a love of language and discovered her favorite place at school was the library. “The one thing that books do is they open up your world,” said Hill. “They cause you to ask questions, they make you curious about the world.”

One of her most life-changing experiences came in 10^th grade when she enrolled in a journalism class. The teacher, Ms. Platt, strongly encouraged her to apply for a 10-week journalism apprenticeship run by the Detroit Free Press. Hill applied and was one of 12 high school students accepted into the program.

That summer, Hill attended the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Detroit, as part of its apprentice program. There, she introduced herself to people and explained that she wanted to be a professional journalist. “I did that about 20 or 30 times, and at the end I was sick of my own voice,” she recalled. Hill then became a student member of NABJ, the largest professional minority journalism organization in the country.

In 2018 NABJ presented Hill with its Journalist of the Year Award. “Imagine 20-plus years later to be journalist of the year at the same organization that I joined when I was 16 years old,” she said. “So, if not for Ms. Platt hounding me about the [apprenticeship] program, I never get to NABJ -- which then opens my mind to where I see that there are people in this profession that look like me.”

In her address to conferees, Hill noted that it is a volatile time in education, where learning and public schools are under attack. She reminded the assembled school leaders that all their hard work and the conversations they’ve had with students throughout the years are going to bear fruit.

“I want to thank all of you educators from the bottom of my heart, especially those who remain committed to public schools,” said Hill. “You are doing very important and necessary work. Thank you.”