Jennifer Berry Hawes

I often write about racial inequities across the South but am interested in a broad range of systemic harm.

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I am especially interested in Hurricane Helene and issues related to preparedness and rebuilding.

What I Cover

I’m currently writing about Hurricane Helene, both its impact and its aftermath. I am interested in issues related to preparedness and response to natural disasters and other mass-casualty events.

My Background

I have spent almost all of my career writing about the South, and I care deeply about the region and its people. Prior to ProPublica, I worked at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, most recently as a watchdog and public service reporter. I was part of the team that won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for public service for the series “Till Death Do Us Part,” which examined South Carolina’s failure to protect women from often-fatal domestic violence. I also was a 2019 Pulitzer finalist for feature writing, along with fellow reporter Deanna Pan, for our series “An Undying Mystery” about the youngest person ever executed in South Carolina.

I also reported extensively on the Emanuel AME Church mass shooting in 2015, when a racist gunman murdered nine people during Bible study at one of the country’s oldest Black churches. My 2019 book stemming from that reporting, “Grace Will Lead Us Home,” won the Christopher Award and Audie Award for nonfiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

I am based in South Carolina.

Helene’s Unheard Warnings

As Hurricane Helene barreled toward Yancey County in North Carolina, communities along the Cane River in the Black Mountains were particularly vulnerable. But there were no evacuation orders, and few grasped what was coming.

May 19, 2025, 5:00 am EDT
Prescient Warnings About Helene Didn’t Reach People in Harm’s Way. Here Are 5 Lessons for the Next Hurricane.

After four months of reporting, ProPublica found that the warnings about Helene were eerily accurate. Yet, local residents remained largely unaware of the enormity of danger approaching as the storm closed in.

May 21, 2025, 2:30 pm EDT
Segregation Academies Still Operate Across the South. One Town Grapples With Its Divided Schools.

Seventy years after Brown v. Board, Black and white residents, in Camden, Alabama, say they would like to see their children schooled together. But after so long apart, they aren’t sure how to make it happen.

May 18, 2024, 5:00 am EDT
How a Grad Student Uncovered the Largest Known Slave Auction in the U.S.

Lauren Davila made a stunning discovery as a graduate student at the College of Charleston: an ad for a slave auction larger than any historian had yet identified. The find yields a new understanding of the enormous harm of such a transaction.

June 16, 2023, 5:00 am EDT