Rita Omokha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rita Omokha | |
|---|---|
 Omokha at the 2025 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupations | Journalist, author, social entrepreneur |
| Organization | Columbia University |
| Notable work | Resist: How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize Traveling Fellowship; Campbell Award; Society of Professional Journalists |
| Website | ritaomokha |
Rita Omokha (born in Benin City)[1] is a Nigerian American journalist, author, and the founder of the nonprofit organization Her Climb, which supports young women from underrepresented and underresourced backgrounds as they prepare for college and build early career pathways.[2] She is a contributing writer for The Guardian, Vanity Fair, and Elle. In 2024, she published a book called Resist: How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America.[3]
She is an adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[4]
Omokha was born and partly raised in Benin City, Edo State. She is the youngest of four children, with three brothers.[1][5]
Omokha and her brothers moved to the United States in 1995, joining her mother in the South Bronx, who had been the beneficiary of the Immigration Act of 1990. She has written about her immigrant experience in America, once writing, “I was first christened 'African booty scratcher' in fourth grade...It sounded ridiculous, but it pricked when my classmates would belly-laugh at my expense. This is also my earliest memory of Black America.”[1]
In 2020, Omokha earned a Master of Science in journalism from Columbia University. While there, she earned the Pulitzer Prize Traveling Fellowship, among other honors.[4][6]
Career
Omokha began her freelance writing career in 2020 and has freelanced for Elle, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, and The Washington Post.[5]
Following the events of 2020, Omokha traveled to “30 states in 32 days” to report on race relations across the country.[7] The project, titled “America Redefined,” was published in Elle.[7] The 10-part feature was a finalist for the Livingston Award[8] and won the Society of Professional Journalists’s Magazine Feature Reporting award. The judges said, “the America Redefined story offers a personal look beyond the harsh realities of our nation: racism, the impact that the death of George Floyd and the pandemic that turned the world upside down. It's a journey of exploration and self-discovery as the reporter reevaluated her existence in America and provided context for what it means to live in this modern society.”[9]
In addition to writing, Omokha is a graduate-level educator at Columbia University.[7]
Selected works
- "They are the last two WWII Navajo code talkers. This is their story.", National Geographic, 2025.[10]
- "10 Years On, Michael Brown's and Eric Garner's Mothers Are Still Fighting for Justice", Vanity Fair, 2024.[11]
- "Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost on the Power of Gen Z, Family, and Organizing", Teen Vogue, 2023.[12]
- "The Pain and Glory of Cori Bush", New York Magazine, 2022.[13]
- "‘They don't have any humanity’: Black immigrants in Ice custody report abuse and neglect", The Guardian, 2022.[14]
- "Val Demings Is on a Mission", Vanity Fair, 2022.[15]
- "In the Shadows: The Orphans COVID Left Behind", Vanity Fair, 2021.[16]
- "She's Become a Symbol of a Movement: Gwen Carr, Political Powerhouse, Is a Force to Be Reckoned With", Vanity Fair, 2021.[17]
- "I See My Work as Talking Back: How Critical Race Theory Mastermind Kimberlé Crenshaw Is Weathering the Culture Wars", Vanity Fair, 2021.[18]
- "On his 25th birthday, Michael Brown's mother reflects on his life and her ongoing fight for justice", The Washington Post, 2021.[19]
- "They Were Sons", Vanity Fair, 2021.[20]
- "America Redefined", Elle, 2021.[21]
- "George Floyd Could Have Been My Brother", Elle, 2020.[22]
Awards
Omokha's articles have been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists,[9] the Livingston Award,[8] the Pulitzer board,[6] the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma,[23] and the Education Writers Association.[24]
Philanthropy and social impact
In 2025, Omokha founded Her Climb, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in New York City providing mentorship, leadership programs, and college and career preparation for high school girls from underserved communities. The organization operates year-round programming and takes place at Columbia University.[25]