Carol Jenkins

Carol Jenkins is an Emmy-winning journalist, author and equality activist.

Carol is the co-author with her daughter Elizabeth Hines of an award-winning biography of her uncle, “Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire.”

In her role as host of Black America on CUNY TV, now in its 10th season of conversations—nearly 300 episodes–she also produced and anchored its two award winning documentaries—one, the PBS-aired opening of the Smithsonian African American Museum; and the Telly award winning Conscience of America, on the Birmingham Civil Rights Monument established by President Obama. A lynchpin of that historic district is the A.G. Gaston Motel, built by her uncle, which served as headquarters for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the momentous desegregation efforts there.

After a 25-year career as one of New York City’s leading anchor/correspondents at WNBC-TV that included coverage of the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and U.S. presidential politics, she turned her attention to the activism of women’s and children’s rights.

For nearly a decade, she has worked to amend the U.S. Constitution as Chair, President and CEO of the ERA Coalition. The Equal Rights Amendment ends discrimination based on sex. In January of 2024, President Biden declared the ERA “the law of the land” giving the ERA Coalition a major victory. While President and CEO of the ERA Coalition, comprised of some 300 national and local organizations, she testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform about the impoverishment of women and children in America.

Before that, Carol served as founding president of the Women’s Media Center, created by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to combat the absence of women as subjects and leaders in the media. While there, she created the Progressive Women’s Voices project which continues to shape leaders in the media. Each year a WMC/Carol Jenkins award is given to a woman demonstrating the “powerful and visible” mantra of WMC.

Currently, Carol is co-founder and co-host of the nonprofit media project, now in its fourth season, The Invisible Americans Podcast, raising awareness of the nearly 13 million children in the United States who live in poverty. Among her other commitments, she serves as a board member of the US board of Amref Health Africa, the continent’s largest African health organization, serving more than 35 countries.

Honors Carol has recently received include the Forbes Fifty Over Fifty Impact Award, the Vanguard Award from the Shabazz Center, and Distinguished Alumna Awards from Boston University and New York University.

Recent profiles include a Newsday retrospective, “From Anchor to Activist,” and a half hour dedicated to her career and activism on “A Slice of New York” on CUNY TV.