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Behind The Story: Author Talk with Lee Hawkins

A CCPL Virtual Author Speaker Series Program

2025-02-18 14:00:00 2025-02-18 15:00:00 America/New_York Behind The Story: Author Talk with Lee Hawkins Virtual -

Tuesday, February 18
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Add to Calendar 2025-02-18 14:00:00 2025-02-18 15:00:00 America/New_York Behind The Story: Author Talk with Lee Hawkins Join us and author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Hawkins to discuss his memoir "I Am Nobody's Slave: How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free." Virtual -

Join us and author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Hawkins to discuss his memoir "I Am Nobody's Slave: How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free."

We welcome you to our conversation with journalist and author Lee Hawkins as he talks to us about the examination of his family’s legacy of post-enslavement trauma and resilience in this riveting memoir, I Am Nobody's Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free. 

I Am Nobody’s Slave tells the story of one Black family's pursuit of the American Dream through the impacts of systemic racism and racial violence. This book examines how trauma from enslavement and Jim Crow shaped their outlook on thriving in America, influenced each generation, and how they succeeded despite these challenges.

To their suburban Minnesotan neighbors, the Hawkinses were an ideal American family, embodying strength and success. However, behind closed doors, they faced the legacy of enslavement and apartheid. Lee Hawkins, Sr. often exhibited rage, leaving his children anxious and curious about his protective view of the world. Thirty years later, his son uncovered the reasons for his father’s anxiety and occasional violence. Through research, he discovered violent deaths in his family for every generation since slavery, mostly due to white-on-Black murders, and how white enslavers impacted the family’s customs.

Hawkins explores the role of racism-triggered childhood trauma and chronic stress in shortening his ancestors' lives, using genetic testing, reporting, and historical data to craft a moving family portrait. This book shows how genealogical research can educate and heal Americans of all races, revealing through their story the story of America—a journey of struggle, resilience, and the heavy cost of ultimate success. Register today to join the conversation!

About the Author: LEE HAWKINS was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist as a lead reporter on a series about the Tulsa Massacre of 1921 at the Wall Street Journal, where he worked for nineteen years. He has received several fellowships, including The Carter Center’s Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism, the Alicia Patterson Foundation Journalism Fellowship, the O’Brien Fellowship for Public Service Journalism, the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism National Fellowship for reporting on child well-being. Hawkins is a five-time winner of the National Association of Black Journalists’ “Salute to Excellence” Award. He is the creator and host of the podcast “What Happened in Alabama?” and lives in the New York City area.

To view a recording of this event or to see the full archive of Behind the Story events, click here. Scroll to search for the event you are looking for.


The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Charles County Public Library.

Charles County Public Library events are accessible for all. If you have an accessibility request, please contact programs@ccplonline.org three business days prior to the event.

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Sat, Mar 15 9:00AM to 5:00PM
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