Making the Past Present: Strategies for Reporting on History
Unearthing the past requires a different set of research and reporting strategies. Journalist Lee Hawkins has spent years honing this craft, culminating in the publication last year of his book “I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free.” Drawing on genealogy, genetic testing, archival research and shoe-leather reporting, Hawkins’ memoir reveals the violent fate of many of his forebears going back to slavery, the devastating effects of Jim Crow, and the intergenerational trauma that ultimately set the course of his own life and upbringing. In this webinar, we’ll discuss how journalists can use historical research to power their own work, adding crucial perspectives and findings that can recast the present. Whether you’re a reporter looking to add historical context and depth to your stories about individuals, families or communities, or a writer pursuing your own memoir or autobiographical project, this webinar will provide ideas, tips and lessons to advance your journey into the past. We’ll discuss methods for conducting archival research, how genetic testing can identify potential sources, and how to turn leads into hard-won interviews. We’ll also share tips for that classic journalistic challenge: How do you get reluctant sources to talk about difficult subjects when they finally answer the door?
Panelists
Lee Hawkins is the author of “I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free,” a memoir published in 2025 that traces his Black American family’s history through slavery, Jim Crow and the intergenerational trauma that followed. Hawkins, a former National Fellow at the Center for Health Journalism, served as a reporter, on-camera host, and editor at The Wall Street Journal for 19 years. He 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?” for American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio was named one of the “Best Podcasts of the Year” by The Guardian and Amazon/Audible. Hawkins was 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. Raised in Maplewood, Minnesota and the historic Rondo community of St. Paul, Hawkins holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he served as editorial page editor of The Badger Herald.