Two N.C. A&T Students Join AJC as Inaugural Ida B. Wells Data Journalism Fellows

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (July 20, 2026) – Two North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University journalism and mass communications students have joined the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) this summer as inaugural Ida B. Wells HBCU Data Journalism Fellows.

Rising seniors Antonio Mattox Jr. and Kevin Pernell, along with four other students from historically Black colleges and universities, are spending 11 weeks with the AJC’s Upward Atlanta (UATL) hub, the platform dedicated to covering Black Atlanta. These fellows are receiving extensive, hands-on newsroom training in trends and events shaping Black culture in Atlanta, and investigative data journalism building the organization’s coverage of HBCUs.

This pilot program, created by Robbie Morganfield, Ph.D., executive director of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, offers HBCU students the opportunity to train under talented journalists across the country, strengthening their portfolios in data-driven and investigative journalism while equipping them with experience that gives them a necessary competitive edge for the job market.

“We believe that journalism should be a force for good and a force for improving society, we're the voice of people, and we have to be more forceful in conveying that story,” said Morganfield, former Department of Journalism and Mass Communications chair in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at North Carolina A&T. “So, part of what this is about is adding to the quality education that students are receiving at HBCUs by providing them with tools and the skills through our program so that as they are competitive in that field.”

Both Mattox and Pernell are working with a team of journalists at the AJC to follow up on a 2018 story the organization published that examined the potential decline of HBCUs based on funding and enrollment trends.

“The original story predicted HBCUs could disappear, but what we’re seeing now tells a different story. HBCUs have seen a significant increase in enrollment, especially since the pandemic, so we’re digging into what has changed,” said Pernell, who serves on the social media team for The A&T Register, the campus newspaper.

From this assignment, they’re looking at a range of issues and variables that pertain to HBCUs, collecting, analyzing and interpreting this data to determine what these factors could suggest about the future of these institutions.

“Doing investigative journalism work is stretching my ability as a journalist and gives me another layer of depth that I didn’t have before,” said Mattox, senior editor and sports section editor for The A&T Register. “I pay more attention to detail, I’m learning how to read and analyze numbers, and I think I can incorporate that into the reporting that I already do.”

Beyond their investigative project examining the future of HBCUs, the fellows have completed a wide variety of stories in Atlanta. Mattox and Pernell reported on FIFA Fan Festival events, explored community perspectives surrounding the World Cup and contributed stories highlighting issues impacting Atlanta’s Black community.

For Morganfield, the fellowship represents a continuation of the mission championed by Ida B. Wells: using journalism as a tool to uncover the truth and advocate for communities.

“Our organization is trying to carry on that legacy of truth-telling, speaking truth to power and speaking on behalf of people who don't often have a voice,” he said.

Students and recent graduates interested in opportunities through the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Journalism are encouraged to visit the Society’s website, idabwellssociety.org.