Diamond Hardiman (she/hers) is a cultural organizer grown from the love of a family from Aurora and Park Hill, Colorado. In her role at Free Press, she builds the dreams, power and local journalism needed to forge a reparative media future. She works with the Media 2070 and News Voices teams to name what is required for local-news ecosystems (including journalists, communities, journalism institutions, funders, organizers and policymakers) to confront their histories of harm and listen to communities seeding repair. Before joining Free Press, she worked as a tenants-rights advocate in downtown St. Louis, a bail-support and resource advocate at the St. Louis Bail Project, and a member of a post-conviction team for men facing capital punishment in Jackson, Mississippi. She graduated summa cum laude from Saint Louis University with a degree in African American studies and political science. When she is and isn’t alchemizing journalism, language and narrative, you can find her loving on her people, resting well and marveling at nature.
Expert Analysis
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The anti-Black history of journalism demands that we now prioritize healing — and consider how restorative practices can change the culture of journalism.
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We hope this Free Press guide reveals a new way of working, one that treats the other side of the “interview” as delicate, sacred and powerful.
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A bold new report examines ways that Colorado newsrooms can repair past harms and create coverage that captures the joy and power of Latinx communities.
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Today the Black Voices Working Group is releasing a report that documents ways that Colorado news outlets can repair past harms and foster true media equity.
News
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Reporters and newsrooms that have created harm, or quietly allowed it, can change course by integrating media reparations into their editorial processes.
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Both the Tulsa Race Massacre and the 2022 Buffalo shooting reveal the media’s tendency to fuel violence and disregard for Black life.
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Free Press’ Diamond Hardiman discusses the case of Porcha Woodruff, who was mistakenly identified as a carjacking and robbery suspect.
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Families of the Buffalo supermarket-shooting victims point to algorithms and negligence leading to anti-Black violence.
Stories
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A recent event shed light on how newsrooms have harmed Latinx communities in Colorado — and lifted up ways to create much-needed shifts in reporting.
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In January, News Voices: Colorado hosted a Zoom call to discuss some of the ways in which media outlets have harmed Black communities in Colorado.
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Over the past four months, News Voices: Colorado has guided 12 journalists in producing equitable and community-centered storytelling in Boulder County.
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Reporting on the racial-justice uprisings has led to a reckoning within newsrooms. A recent Colorado event highlighted how journalists can honor Black life.
