I Am Nobody's Slave
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.
Buy the Book
Praise for I Am Nobody's Slave
"Harrowing and insightful …A profound work about the Black experience and white oppression."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Hawkins's memoir is deeply reflective and transparent about his personal story and family history, sharing the love, restrictions, violence, and trauma he experienced throughout his life as a Black man living in a post–civil rights movement world. This work is vitally important and essential to understanding the magnitude of the impact of racism and violence."
—Library Journal (starred review)
"Gripping, thought-provoking, and personal, I Am Nobody's Slave will inspire discussion and action in response to its powerful message of inner healing and social justice."
—Booklist
"Through the lens of a journalist and descendant, Hawkins not only reclaims his family's history but also confronts the lingering effects of intergenerational trauma, showing that healing is an act of defiance in itself."
—Forbes
"It's not just about looking back; it's about using what you find about past family traumas and resilience to move forward, taking the good and breaking the negative cycles in the past."
—Booklist
"Pulitzer Prize finalist, and former Wall Street Journal writer turns to memoir to trace a harrowing and intimate family story. When Hawkins began having nightmares in his 40s, it reminded him of the nightmares his father had as a child. He asked his father about those nightmares, and his father answered with a single word: "Alabama.""
—Library Journal