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Alexis Okeowo head shot - The New Yorker

Alexis Okeowo

​​Alexis Okeowo has reported from Africa, Mexico, and the American South for The New Yorker, writing about conflict, human rights, and culture. Their feature “Tainted Earth” won the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Philip D. Reed Environmental Writing Award in 2022. Okeowo is the author of the book “A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa,” which received the 2018 PEN Open Book Award. Their work has also been anthologized in “The Best American Sports Writing” (2017) and “The Best American Travel Writing” (2017). Okeowo has previously contributed to the Times Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, and the Financial Times. In 2020, Okeowo was named journalist of the year by the Newswomen’s Club of New York.

Why Were Two Female Running Champions Killed in Kenya?

Iten, a small town in the Great Rift Valley, became the long-distance-running capital of the world. Then, within a span of six months, two élite athletes were found dead.

The Crisis of Missing Migrants

What has become of the tens of thousands of people who have disappeared on their way to Europe?

Constance Debré’s Deviant, Defiant Performance of Motherhood

In “Love Me Tender,” the French writer’s account of life after losing custody of her son, the bond between mother and child is as volatile and painful as any other. 

The Foreign Students Displaced by the War in Ukraine

Tens of thousands saw the country as a gateway to a better life. Will Europe let them stay?

Europe’s Other Migration Crisis

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Ukraine. Will more humane border policies follow? 

Warsan Shire’s Portraits of Somalis in Exile

The poet’s new collection melds verse and reportage to capture voices of the Somali diaspora.

What a Fire in the Bronx Says About Immigrant Life in New York

The death of seventeen people, most of them from the Gambia, evoked the city’s long history of failing to provide safe and affordable housing for migrants.

The Heavy Toll of the Black Belt’s Wastewater Crisis

Many rural households in America don’t have access to safe sewage systems. In Alabama, entrenched poverty and unusual geology have created a public-health disaster.

How Saidiya Hartman Retells the History of Black Life

The scholar’s provocative writing illuminates stories that have long gone untold.

The Uncertainties Facing New York City’s Young Essential Workers

Many teen-agers working in grocery stores and restaurants are grappling with the pressure to help support their families, protect vulnerable loved ones, and plan for their own futures.

How to Defund the Police

Community groups operating in New York City and across the country have reduced violence and present an alternative vision of safety.

The Fragile Existence of Sex Workers During the Pandemic

They face not only a drop in employment but also discrimination and stigma as they search for relief.

Riz Ahmed Is Rethinking What Matters

The actor and musician on home, heartbreak, and the trap of chasing productivity during quarantine.

Fighting for Abortion Access in the South

A fund in Georgia is responding to restrictive legislation with a familial kind of care.

Progressives Try a New Form of Campaigning in Alabama

The organization Hometown Action advocates for social-justice issues and appeals to core ideas of faith, family, and hard work, while trying not to alienate potential voters by focussing on controversial topics.

A Devastating, Overdue National Memorial to Lynching Victims

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opens this week, in Alabama, forces visitors to face the country’s history of racist terror.

An Activist Filmmaker Tackles Patriarchy in Pakistan

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy documents women’s lives in the hope of combatting male power.

Why Were Two Female Running Champions Killed in Kenya?

Iten, a small town in the Great Rift Valley, became the long-distance-running capital of the world. Then, within a span of six months, two élite athletes were found dead.

The Crisis of Missing Migrants

What has become of the tens of thousands of people who have disappeared on their way to Europe?

Constance Debré’s Deviant, Defiant Performance of Motherhood

In “Love Me Tender,” the French writer’s account of life after losing custody of her son, the bond between mother and child is as volatile and painful as any other. 

The Foreign Students Displaced by the War in Ukraine

Tens of thousands saw the country as a gateway to a better life. Will Europe let them stay?

Europe’s Other Migration Crisis

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Ukraine. Will more humane border policies follow? 

Warsan Shire’s Portraits of Somalis in Exile

The poet’s new collection melds verse and reportage to capture voices of the Somali diaspora.

What a Fire in the Bronx Says About Immigrant Life in New York

The death of seventeen people, most of them from the Gambia, evoked the city’s long history of failing to provide safe and affordable housing for migrants.

The Heavy Toll of the Black Belt’s Wastewater Crisis

Many rural households in America don’t have access to safe sewage systems. In Alabama, entrenched poverty and unusual geology have created a public-health disaster.

How Saidiya Hartman Retells the History of Black Life

The scholar’s provocative writing illuminates stories that have long gone untold.

The Uncertainties Facing New York City’s Young Essential Workers

Many teen-agers working in grocery stores and restaurants are grappling with the pressure to help support their families, protect vulnerable loved ones, and plan for their own futures.

How to Defund the Police

Community groups operating in New York City and across the country have reduced violence and present an alternative vision of safety.

The Fragile Existence of Sex Workers During the Pandemic

They face not only a drop in employment but also discrimination and stigma as they search for relief.

Riz Ahmed Is Rethinking What Matters

The actor and musician on home, heartbreak, and the trap of chasing productivity during quarantine.

Fighting for Abortion Access in the South

A fund in Georgia is responding to restrictive legislation with a familial kind of care.

Progressives Try a New Form of Campaigning in Alabama

The organization Hometown Action advocates for social-justice issues and appeals to core ideas of faith, family, and hard work, while trying not to alienate potential voters by focussing on controversial topics.

A Devastating, Overdue National Memorial to Lynching Victims

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opens this week, in Alabama, forces visitors to face the country’s history of racist terror.

An Activist Filmmaker Tackles Patriarchy in Pakistan

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy documents women’s lives in the hope of combatting male power.