Lee Hawkins

The St. Louis County Library’s Black History Celebration Presents Award-winning Journalist Lee Hawkins

 
Author of “I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free”
 

In Conversation with Gwen Moore, Historian - Missouri History Museum

Presented in partnership with the Emerson History and Genealogy Center and the Missouri History Museum

Pulitzer Prize finalist and former Wall Street Journal writer Lee Hawkins’s riveting memoir  examines his family’s legacy of post-enslavement trauma and resilience. “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. 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.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m.