E’jaaz A. Mason
JSK Journalism Fellow
New Orleans, Louisiana
E’jaaz A. Mason is the program director and co-founder of Lede New Orleans, a community journalism nonprofit that equips young creatives with skills, tools and resources to transform local media. Prior to co-founding Lede, Mason spent five years teaching multimedia storytelling in local public high schools, where he founded the award-winning digital media program at New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School. Mason’s professional storytelling journey began in the film industry. In 2015, Mason and his partner, Edward Buckles Jr., began work on a project that shed light on the government’s mishandling of PTSD and lack of investment in adequate mental health support for the generation of children who experienced Hurricane Katrina. This project would go on to become the HBO/Time Studios documentary Katrina Babies, winning two awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and shortlisted for Best Documentary by the International Documentary Association. Mason’s latest documentary, Black Suit: Sewing [Her]story, is set to premiere in November 2023.