Turks & Caicos – Haitian Journalist wins Natl Association of Black Journalists Award, first to do it twice

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, August 20, 2022 – Jacqueline Charles, TCI-born Journalist has become the first person in history to be named NABJ Journalist of the Year twice.

Charles received the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) 2022 honor for her “groundbreaking accomplishment and support of the black community in news and media” specifically her focus on the embattled Republic of Haiti.

The excellence of Charles’ work has been recognized in many spheres, in her impressive collection there is also an Emmy, a Maria Moors Cabot Prize, she is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a recipient of the International Journalist of the Year Award and has been inducted into the NC Media Journalism Hall of Fame.

Born in Grand Turk of Haitian and TCI heritage, she immigrated to the United States as a child and flourished in the field after picking up an internship at the Miami Herald at only 14 years old.

Even then, Charles commanded top accolades and was named intern of the year.

After college, Jacqueline returned to work at the Herald and focused the nature of her reporting on her cultural homeland, Haiti as well as Cuba and eventually she earned the role of full-time Haiti-Caribbean correspondent.

Ms. Charles was first awarded the NABJ Journalist of the Year honor in 2011 for her fearless and compassionate coverage of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Now 12 years later, as the nation makes its way through another string of crises, Charles is unflinchingly capturing the struggles and successes of Haitians in epic fashion.

She told the Pulitzer Centre, “What happens in the region is that we often carry ourselves like we are islands unto ourselves. We don’t understand that we are more similar than we’re different. And so, I view myself as being in a very unique position— I can translate the modern story of Haiti, you know, to outside audiences, and I can also translate to the Haitian audience, English-speaking Caribbean. So, you know, I’m in a very unique cultural and bicultural, tricultural if you want. So, I just see that this is where I was meant to be.”

Charles operates in the thick of Haitian life, she has described her time in Haiti dodging bullets and avoiding kidnappings while at the same time connecting with the people on a personal level. She  carries their stories to an international audience with empathy and grace resulting in her many nominations and awards

Charles was honored on Sunday August 6th by the NABJ in its annual ceremony.