I am nobody's slave : how uncovering my family's history set me free / Lee Hawkins

Author: Hawkins, Lee
Additional Titles: How uncovering my family's history set me free
Published: New York, NY : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2024]
Copyright Date: ©2024
Edition: First edition.
Physical Description: xii, 352 pages ; 24 cm

Availability

Finding items...

Contents

A note on language and terminology -- Part 1: Black boy in Maplewood, USA -- Part 2: "I'll break your neck" -- Part 3: Grandma Charity and her children -- Part 4: What happened in Alabama?

Summary

"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"--

Subject(s)

Other Subject(s)

Genre(s)

ISBN

9780062823168 (hardcover)
0062823167 (hardcover)

View MARC record | catkey: 47070063