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The Library welcomes NBC News "Meet the Press" Moderator Chuck Todd for a special discussion with Antonia Hylton and Mike Hixenbaugh, hosts of the NBC News podcast "Southlake."
Join DC Public Library for a special event with NBC News Meet the Press Moderator Chuck Todd in conversation with Antonia Hylton and Mike Hixenbaugh, hosts of the hit NBC News podcast Southlake, and Tiffany Alston, Director of Public Services at DC Public Library about the current fight over which books students should be allowed to read.
As the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library celebrates the 50th anniversary of the central library in downtown Washington D.C., we are thrilled to welcome the reporting team behind the award-winning NBC News podcast Southlake, which examines a school district in Texas, amid the growing attacks on critical race theory.
Southlake, Texas, seems to have it all: stately homes, intense civic pride, and above all, terrific schools. So when a video surfaced in 2018 showing Southlake high school students chanting the N-word — and when Black residents came forward to share stories of racist harassment and bullying — the school board vowed to make changes. But the unveiling of a Cultural Competence Action Plan set off a backlash that’s consumed Southlake, fueled by a growing national crusade against critical race theory. Hosted by NBC News national reporter Mike Hixenbaugh (host of the hit podcast “Do No Harm”) and NBC News correspondent Antonia Hylton, “Southlake” tells the story of how this idyllic city, and its local school board election, became the poster child for a new political strategy with national repercussions.
Chuck Todd, NBC News Political Director and Moderator of "Meet The Press", Host of MSNBC’S “MTP DAILY”
Chuck Todd is NBC News’ political director and the moderator of the #1 rated Sunday public affairs program, Meet the Press. Todd is a primary anchor for the network’s primetime political and election programming and spearheads NBC News’ political coverage across all its platforms and flagship news programs. Todd was named moderator of Meet the Press in 2014 and the program has since become the #1 rated Sunday public affairs show for six straight years. In 2015, Todd took the success of the Sunday program to MSNBC with MTP Daily airing at 1 p.m. on weekdays.
Antonia Hylton, NBC News Correspondent
Antonia Hylton is an NBC News correspondent and an Emmy award-winning journalist reporting at the intersection of politics, civil rights, and immigration across all NBC News platforms. In 2021, Hylton co-hosted the #1 hit podcast, Southlake, with co-host Mike Hixenbaugh. Southlake tells the story of how this idyllic city, and its local school board election, became the poster child for a new political strategy with national repercussions. The podcast hit #1 on the podcast charts and was named to numerous lists of the best new podcasts of 2021. From 2016 to 2020, Antonia worked for Vice Media and HBO’s nightly news and documentary show, Vice News Tonight, and launched a podcast with Spotify focused on the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucus. Antonia has won several awards, including an Emmy for her development and reporting of an HBO special episode on the family separation crisis, a Gracie Award for her stories about women, a NAMIC Vision Award for reporting on violence and politics in Chicago, and two Front Page Awards for special reporting and breaking news. When she’s not in the field reporting, Antonia mentors other young reporters.
Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News Senior Investigative Reporter
Mike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigative reporter for NBC News. In 2020, Mike reported on and hosted a chart-topping and award-winning podcast series, Do No Harm, offering rare access inside a system dedicated to spotting subtle signs of abuse, following families from the hospital room to the courtroom in their fight to keep their children. In 2021, Hixenbaugh co-hosted the #1 hit podcast, Southlake, with co-host Antonia Hylton. Southlake tells the story of how this idyllic city, and its local school board election, became the poster child for a new political strategy with national repercussions. The podcast hit #1 on the podcast charts and was named to numerous lists of the best new podcasts of 2021. Before joining NBC News in 2019, he spent more than a decade at newspapers in North Carolina, Virginia and Texas, where his reporting exposed safety flaws in health care and the military, leading to reforms. Hixenbaugh has been listed four times among America’s best young journalists as a Livingston Awards finalist, and in 2018, he was named the top newspaper reporter in Texas. That same year, his work covering Hurricane Harvey for the Houston Chronicle, including a longform narrative chronicling the storm’s destruction, was part of a package of stories recognized as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news reporting. Mike lives in Houston with his wife and four children.
Tiffany Alston, Chief of Public Services
Born and raised in New York City, Tiffany Alston is the child of working class parents, a Social worker and a Correction Officer. Her parents believed strongly in continuing education and a strong work ethic. This led Tiffany to begin her career in libraries in 1995 as a Book Page for the New York Public Library. She completed her Bachelor of Arts at The College of New Rochelle and went on to pursue her Masters of Information and Library Science degree at Pratt Institute. She served in many capacities at libraries including Clerical, Outreach, Librarian, Manager and Associate Director for two networks of Libraries while at the New York Public Library. Having these operational roles and responsibilities have helped to shape her library career. Tiffany is a working mother who is dedicated to family and community.
Tiffany came to the DMV area in 2018 to be a Co-Director of Neighborhood Libraries at DC Public Library where she oversaw 13 neighborhood libraries. Since being in the DMV area, she has participated in the Equity Lab’s Seeding Disruption Fellowship, Cohort 3 from 2019-2020, led the Hiring and Onboarding workgroup with Achieve Mission on Talent Management agency work and participated in an Action Learning Certification program. She is a committed supporter of Racial Equity work and has participated in diversity and Inclusion work in addition to de-escalating difficult situations. Tiffany has used her operational ranks in diverse communities to build and create policies and procedures to strengthen the work of the agency, create pandemic preparedness documents and processes and connect people and resources. She is looking forward to having the opportunity to do this in other places and communities as well.
Tiffany has a passion for public service and building unified communities. She is proud of strengthening DC Public Library by supporting the right sizing of programs and services for neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C. area. She also has had the opportunity to work with and develop several Library managers and staff members. Under her leadership, staff has been able to learn, grow and flourish professionally. As a result, the libraries are working more closely with each other and their local CBO’s. Tiffany is a member of the American Libraries Association, Public Library Association, Urban Librarians Council, District of Columbia Library Association and the Maryland Library Association.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Lecture | Banned Books Week | Author Talk |
