Soraya Nadia McDonald

Soraya Nadia McDonald is an American writer and culture critic. She was previously a reporter at The Washington Post, and has been the culture critic for The Undefeated since 2016. McDonald was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for criticism.[1][2]

Soraya Nadia McDonald
NationalityAmerican
OccupationWriter, culture critic
EmployerThe Undefeated
AwardsGeorge Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism (2020)

Life and career

McDonald was raised in North Carolina.[3] Her father is African American and her mother is a Sephardic Jew, born in Suriname and raised in Amsterdam.[4] McDonald received her bachelor's degree from Howard University,[5] during which she interned for the high school sports desk at The Washington Post. She returned to the Post after graduation as a staff reporter[3] and left in January 2016 to work as the senior culture writer for The Undefeated.[5]

McDonald's writing covers pop culture, sports, race, gender, and sexuality.[1] She frequently focuses her criticism on the intersection of art and race and has written on topics such as the weaknesses of a post-racial Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale,[6] and the racial anxiety of BlackAF.[7] McDonald often critiques the nature of American theater's engagement with the topic of race[8] and has written about shows such as Choir Boy, White Noise, and Slave Play.[9] On May 4, 2020, she was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.[2]

McDonald is also a commentator on current events such as the implications of racial disparities in COVID-19 cases.[10] Her work has appeared in and been cited in books and journalistic outlets such as NPR, Vox, and Elle.[11][12][13]

In 2020 she contributed a chapter to the volume Believe Me edited by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman.[14]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Vernon Jarrett Medal to be Presented to New York Times Reporter For Her Work in Coverage Of Hate Crime, Race, and Identity". Morgan State University Newsroom. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  2. "2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners & Finalists". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  3. "Episode 13: A candid conversation with Washington Post reporter Soraya McDonald - Behind the Prose". Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  4. McDonald, Soraya Nadia (2020-07-17). "I'm a Jew of color. I won't be quiet about anti-Semitism". The Undefeated. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  5. "The intersection of race, sports and culture: Kevin Merida and The Undefeated". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  6. Bastién, Angelica Jade. "In Its First Season, The Handmaid's Tale Greatest Failing Is How It Handles Race". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  7. Ibrahim, Shamira (2020-04-26). "What Kenya Barris Doesn't Understand About '#BlackAF'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  8. "Online cultural critic wins 2019-20 Nathan Award". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  9. Seymour, Lee. "Why The Pulitzer Win For 'A Strange Loop' Is Historic—On Multiple Levels". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  10. "Racial Disparities Emerge During Epidemics — Like The 1918 Flu". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  11. VanDerWerff, Emily Todd (2019-12-31). "Culture in the 2010s was obsessed with finding community — and building walls". Vox. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  12. "TV Critics Give Their Under-The-Radar Picks". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  13. Hall, Chloe; Webb, Alysha (2017-11-29). "What Meghan Markle's Royal Engagement Means to 16 Black Women". ELLE. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  14. Believe Me. 2019-02-05.
  15. Desk, BWW News. "Soraya Nadia McDonald is This Year's Winner of the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
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