Lee Hawkins in conversation with Ronnie Gladden discussing and signing I Am Nobody’s Slave

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. Lee Hawkins is an American investigative journalist and author who was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2022. His most recent work documents the lives of Black American descendants of slavery and Jim Crow survivors, exploring the intergenerational impact of racial violence and racism on their families. His reporting also addresses those affected by multiple adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma, highlighting its long-term effects on health and life expectancy. A former reporter for The Wall Street Journal, where he worked for 19 years, Hawkins covers various dimensions of the entrepreneurship, corporate, and investing worlds, focusing on the generational effects of economic discrimination, including racial covenants, land theft, and the impact of economically motivated historical homicides on families of color. His book, I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free (HarperCollins, January 2025), is an introspective journey into his family history, tracing its roots to pre-Revolutionary America. Utilizing genetic testing, investigative reporting, and historical documentation, Mr. Hawkins explores 400 years of his family’s lineage, revealing the intertwined lives of Black and White families, their resilience and sufferings, and the impact of historical trauma. This personal exploration serves as a broader commentary on the importance of genealogical research in healing and bridging racial divides in contemporary America. Mr. Hawkins is the Series Creator, Producer, Writer of the 2024 longform podcast series What Happened in Alabama? for American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. The series was named a “Best Podcast” by The Guardian and Amazon/Audible and was “Editor’s Choice” among Amazon/Audible’s History genre podcasts. It was ranked #25 on Apple Podcast's "Top Shows" charts, which is based on a combination of listener engagement, follows, and episode completion rates. His journalistic endeavors are supported by various colleges, universities, and non-profit organizations. He is currently a 2023-2024 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism at The Carter Center and was named the Josephine Albright Fellow by the 2024 Alicia Patterson Foundation Journalism Fellowship. Also in 2024, he won the McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism, an initiative of the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Center for Business Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. Additionally, Mr. Hawkins has been recognized as a 2022-23 O’Brien Fellow for Public Service Journalism at Marquette University. Prior to these roles, he served for 19 years at the Wall Street Journal as a Reporter/On-Air Host and News Editor. His coverage there included education and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on children and families. He was notably a lead reporter on a Wall Street Journal team that received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist honors in the Explanatory category for their coverage of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. Mr. Hawkins’s co-authored story focused on its intergenerational impact in “The Dreams of Jack and Daisy Scott.” Mr. Hawkins is a five-time winner of the “Salute to Excellence” Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. most recently in 2023, for a story on how the Jesuits of Maryland used financial revenues from slavery plantations to establish and fund Georgetown University and other Jesuit educational institutions. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism.

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