Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a titan of American and New York City journalism, just released an anthology of her work, “My People: Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives.” The title alone should tell you it is no ordinary memoir.

Her work is partly a mirror onto the lives of underrepresented New Yorkers going back to the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement and its most significant victories. Yet Hunter-Gault, 80, didn’t just write about the news; she also was part of it.

In 1961, Hunter-Gault and the late Hamilton Holmes became the first African Americans to register at the University of Georgia, after winning a court battle to gain admission. Hunter-Gault graduated in 1963 and came to New York the same year.

Called “an eminent dean of American journalism” by Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School, Hunter-Gault recently sat down with reporter Arya Sundaram of the newsroom's Race and Justice Unit to discuss her work in New York City, her approach to covering Black communities and reflections on the nation’s ongoing struggles over racial justice.

Here are some highlights from the conversation, edited for length and clarity.