A 20-year-old lady named Kristine E. Guillaume has emerged as the first-ever black female to be elected as the president of Harvard newspaper since its inception in 1873.
Kristine E. Guillaume is a Haitian-Chinese woman living with her immigrant parent. She is a junior studying literature, history, and African-American studies at Harvard University.
The Harvard Crimson newspaper is the United States’ oldest daily student paper, it has previously been headed by notable personalities such as former US presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, former Microsoft head Steve Ballmer, and CNN head Jeff Zucker.
Kristen was elected as the president and chief editor recently making her the third black editor and the first black women editor in the paper’s 145 years of history.
She was appointed to the role after promising to guide the paper, which has struggled with diversity, towards a more diverse and digital future that would welcome students from all backgrounds.
“I’m proud to be a part of making the Crimson a more welcoming place, and to step into this role as the first black woman, “Kristen said. If by taking this role, I help affirm another Crimson staffer’s sense of belonging and ownership over the work that they do, I think that makes all of the hard work worth it,” she added.
Kristen says that she developed an interest in journalism while growing up in Queens. Explaining how her father would take her and her siblings to a diner and ask them to read Times columns by David Brooks and Paul Krugman.