Akilah Johnson joined The Washington Post in 2021 as a national reporter exploring the effect of racism and social inequality on health. Her work covers topics such as Black maternal health, chronic illness, and life expectancy in America.
In prior roles at ProPublica and the Boston Globe she covered the intersection of health, race, politics and immigration. At ProPublica, she won a George Polk award, a National Magazine award and was Pulitzer finalist for examining covid-19’s toll on Black Americans. At the Globe, she was part of a team of journalists who shared a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and she was a Pulitzer finalist as a member of the Spotlight Team investigation into racism in Boston. Her reporting has earned other national awards including NABJ Salute to Excellence Awards, ONA’s Knight Award for Public Service and a National Headliner Award for Journalistic Innovation.