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An Evening with Lee Hawkins: I Am Nobody's Slave

How Uncovering My Family History Set Me Free 

Enjoy an intimate author conversation with Lee Hawkins, as he discusses his powerful memoir, I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free.

Nationally recognized investigative journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Hawkins shares how genealogy can heal bloodlines and offer families mired by “no contact” a pathway to renewed contact and unification based reflections from his book, I AM NOBODY’S SLAVE: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free.

Following a featured reading from his acclaimed memoir, Lee Hawkins will converse with Eisenhower Institute Executive Director Tracie Potts about the DNA test that sparked a 400-year investigation into Lee’s Black American family history and shed light on ancestors who endured enslavement and what Lee calls “Jim Crow apartheid” as well as the often-overlooked connections between slavery, generational trauma, and the lingering effects of systemic racism.

This event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase. Presented in partnership with the Eisenhower Institute and the DC Public Library Foundation. The DC Public Library foundation has donated copies of the book for attendees in need.

The DC Public Library Foundation partners with the DC Public Library to enhance Washington, DC’s public libraries, bringing private philanthropy together with government support to ensure that our libraries deliver the highest quality of service to the District’s residents. With the help of many generous people, the Foundation provides educational programs for children and youth, workforce development training, cultural events, and collection enhancements for DC’s libraries.

The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College connects aspiring young leaders with public policy experts to discover their passion and tackle society’s most challenging issues. We are nonpartisan, inspired by President Eisenhower’s approach of engaging diverse people and ideas to find common ground and take action. The Institute was established in Washington, D.C. in 1983 and merged with Gettysburg College in 2009. From dual offices in Pennsylvania and Washington, the Institute hosts lectures, panels and other public events designed to educate on important policy issues and current affairs.

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 six-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.

In Conversation With     

Tracie Potts is the Eisenhower Institute’s Executive Director. She joined Gettysburg College with a wealth of media experience focused on public policy, along with years of educational advocacy for and with students.

Mrs. Potts spent three decades as an award-winning broadcast journalist, most recently as senior Washington Correspondent for NBC News Channel, the affiliate service of NBC News. Based on Capitol Hill, she covered four Presidential administrations, Congress and the federal government for 200+ local morning news programs, MSNBC, CNBC and foreign news organizations. Outside politics Potts reported abroad from the 2012 Olympics, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate, the selection of Pope Benedict and the death of Nelson Mandela. Before working in Washington, she was based in the network’s Los Angeles bureau and served as an anchor and reporter at local stations.

Potts serves as vice chair of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Advisory Board, after being selected as a 2017 National Fellow. Her “Forgotten Voices” project on the Affordable Care Act was honored with a Dateline Award from the DC chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Other fellowships include the Loyola Marymount Journalist Law School, Mayo Clinic Journalist Residency, National Press Foundation, the Poynter Institute and the Journalism Center of Children and Families and the Michelle Clark Fellowship from the Radio Television News Directors Foundation.

Potts was an instructor for NBC University and the News Literacy Project. Her lesson on NLP’s “Checkology” digital learning platform has been used by more than 100,000 students and educators worldwide. She also taught journalism at Knoxville College and Biola University. Potts was appointed to the National PTA Board of Directors and serves as a family engagement trainer, facilitator and speaker on its governance team. She is currently an advisor for the non-profit Learning Heroes and the federally-funded Statewide Family Engagement Center for Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Potts completed Northwestern University’s Accelerated Masters Program, earning Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from the Medill School of Journalism.

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