LEE HAWKINS

Speaker + Author + Journalist + PODCAST CREATOR

Located near: New York, New York

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Speaking topics

Adapting, Transforming, and Leading: A Blueprint for Corporate Success Amid America’s Demographic Revolution

American History: Confronting Our Nation’s Hard Truths While Honoring Its Greatest Ideals

Black American Descendants of Slavery
Jim Crow apartheid History & Survivors
Intergenerational Impacts of Racism
Integration in America, from mid-60s to Present

Health Inequality & Solutions
Mental Health
Effects of Childhood Trauma
Genealogy & Family Dynamics

Investigative Journalism
Lessons from Business, finance, and Publicly Traded companies
Lessons from Top Celebrities & Newsmakers

Event types

Keynotes
lectures
Fireside Chats
Panels
Workshops
COMMUNITY SEMINARS
Professional development
book talks & Readings
Virtual events
Moderation
International events
Festivals
interviews

LEE HAWKINS’s bio

Lee Hawkins is the author of I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free (HarperCollins, January 2025), a critically acclaimed memoir that traces 400 years of his Black American family’s history through slavery, Jim Crow apartheid, and the intergenerational trauma that followed. His book 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. The book received a starred review from Kirkus calling it “harrowing and insightful… A profound work about the Black experience and white oppression.” I Am Nobody’s Slave received another starred review from Library Journal with a verdict that “This work is vitally important and essential to understanding the magnitude of the impact of racism and violence.” 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.

The book was named a Black History Month pick by Oprah Daily and Oprah’s Book Club, selected as an Amazon “Editor’s Pick” and “Best History Book,” and praised by Essence as “a great read for those seeking healing.” Booklist described it as “gripping, thought-provoking, and personal,” and the Christian Science Monitor called it “a liberation movement worth reading about and practicing.”

Endorsements include Deborah Watts, cousin of Emmett Till and co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, who called the book “transformative.” Arthur McFarlane II, great-grandson of W.E.B. Du Bois, said it inspired him to reclaim his own family history. Dr. Terrence Roberts of the Little Rock Nine praised Hawkins for his courage in telling the unflinching truth: “His narrative provides insights into why we have been reluctant to embrace the truth of who we are.”

A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2022, Hawkins is a nationally recognized investigative journalist whose most recent work documents the lives of Black American descendants of slavery and Jim Crow survivors, exposing America's role in imposing a long legacy of racial violence, childhood trauma, and economic injustice. A former longtime reporter for The Wall Street Journal, where he served for 19 years as a reporter, on-camera host, and editor, Hawkins has investigated topics ranging from systemic inequality and educational disparities to the intergenerational effects of land theft, racial covenants, and historically motivated homicides. His co-authored feature “The Dreams of Jack and Daisy Scott” was part of The Wall Street Journal's Pulitzer Prize-finalist package on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

His 2024 podcast series, What Happened in Alabama?, which he created, produced, wrote, and hosted for American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio, was named one of the “Best Podcasts of the Year” by The Guardian and Amazon/Audible, and was selected as an “Editor’s Choice” in Audible’s history category. It reached #25 on Apple Podcasts’ “Top Shows” chart, recognized for its deep listener engagement and cultural resonance.

Hawkins is currently a 2023–2024 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and the 2024 Josephine Albright Fellow of the Alicia Patterson Foundation. He also received the 2024 McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism and was the 2022–2023 O’Brien Fellow for Public Service Journalism at Marquette University. In 2023, he received his fifth “Salute to Excellence” Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, for his investigation into how the Jesuits of Maryland used wealth from slavery to fund Georgetown University and other Catholic institutions. He was also a 2021 finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism.

A versatile journalist, Hawkins has reported across print, audio, and video, and conducted high-profile interviews with influential newsmakers. He uses DNA analysis, genealogical research, and oral history to investigate America’s buried truths, and his work blends historical inquiry with cultural and emotional clarity.

Raised in Maplewood, Minnesota and the historic Rondo community of St. Paul, Hawkins has long been a committed advocate for nonviolent social change inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He organized annual MLK birthday marches and received the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Minnesota’s King Holiday Commission. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he served as editorial page editor of The Badger Herald and twice served on the Board of Visitors of UW’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Through fearless storytelling and deep historical research, Lee Hawkins offers a powerful and original voice—one committed to truth, healing, and national and global reckoning.