DeNeen L. Brown

DeNeen L. Brown is an award-winning journalist and professor at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, where she teaches writing and reporting with a focus on social justice. A former staff writer at The Washington Post for over 35 years, Brown was a founding member of the "Retropolis" team, known for uncovering hidden histories—especially those centered on Black life in America. Her reporting on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre helped prompt the city’s renewed search for mass graves and was featured in national documentaries on PBS and NatGeo. As a foreign correspondent and Canada Bureau Chief, Brown covered everything from Arctic climate change to missing Indigenous women. Her award-winning narratives have appeared in The Best Newspaper Writing of 1999 and earned honors from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the National Association of Black Journalists. Brown continues to be recognized for her powerful writing voice and commitment to illuminating untold stories.