On the heels of being presented with a New York State proclamation from Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, Epicenter co-founder S. Mitra Kalita was honored by the Women’s Media Center with the Carol Jenkins Award on June 5.
The Women’s Media Center celebrated 20 years of media activism by honoring five women, among them Mitra, who are fighting to change America by changing America’s media. Geralyn White Dreyfous, Jessica Valenti, Imani Perry, and Erica Smiley also received awards.
The power-packed celebration was hosted by none other than Women’s Media Center co-founders Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem. More details about the celebration can be accessed here.
During her acceptance speech at the Women’s Media Center celebration, Mitra spoke of the urgency of our current moment:
“We are living in extraordinary times, how we show up — and who we show up for — matters more than ever. It can feel like empathy is diminishing, certainly in my industry of journalism and toward my beloved neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, which is an immigrant mecca. Living there feels like an assertion of values – values and a way of life now under attack. Freedoms that generations before us – including my father and mother – fought for are under attack.”
She went on to echo Gloria Steinem’s words:
“Empathy is the most radical of human emotions.”
The Carol Jenkins award — named for a woman who didn’t just break barriers, but built platforms for women to thrive in media and in health — reminds us that leadership rooted in empathy and action is world-changing.
Mitra also reflected on the founding of Epicenter and URL Media, crediting figures like Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Carol Jenkins for paving the way. She added:
“It feels like we’re in a fight for our very existence. …In governments that have shifted toward autocracy and lost press freedoms, two distinct trends emerge: One is a lack of solidarity among the press. The other is a lack of financial support for independent media and freedom of the press. With all the power and dollars and friends and networks you have, you must support community media right now — especially ethnic news, the Black press, and local news outlets. And so recognition of me is really recognition of our partners in the URL Media Network, who represent black and brown America, and the local journalists who are the glue of our communities.”
As Epicenter continues to fulfill its mission to center and serve communities of color, these accolades reaffirm the critical need for ongoing investment in local journalism—the kind that informs, uplifts, and defends the communities it serves. Support us!
