Harvard Crimson Names First Black Woman President

Harvard junior Kristine E. Guillaume will be the first black woman to serve as president of The Harvard Crimson in the newspaper’s 145-year run, the Crimson announced Monday evening.

As president, Guillaume will serve as a liaison between the editorial and business departments of the organization and focus on the long-term direction of the publication, which boasts approximately 320 staffers.

ome 2019, Harvard University’s The Crimson newspaper will have its first black female editor.

Twenty-year-old Kristine E. Guillaume will take over the helm of the only daily paper in Cambridge, Massachusetts — which is entirely run by undergraduate college students.

The third-year student was elected after promising “to steer the paper to a more digital, diverse future.”

“If my being elected to the Crimson presidency as the first black woman affirms anyone’s sense of belonging at Harvard, then that will continue to affirm the work that I’m doing,” Guillaume told the New York Times.

The Harvard Crimson elects its most senior leadership role in a “Turkey Shoot” where all outgoing members of the paper vote. The new leader needs 75% of the vote in order to be elected.

Guillaume becomes the third black editor and the first black women editor, The New York Timesreported, in the paper’s 145-year history.