....He just looked down at the floor and said, “Alabama, son. Alabama.”

March 21, 2025 3:54 PM

What Happened in Alabama?

"is a [podcast] series born out of personal experiences of intergenerational trauma, and the impacts of [American] Jim Crow [laws] that exist beyond what we understand about segregation.

"But while my dad was happy at church, nightmares interrupted his sleep sometimes. He’d wake up screaming, startling the whole house. It scared me so much as a kid. "One morning, I got the courage to ask him what he was dreaming about...."

"Through intimate stories of his family, coupled with conversations with experts on the Black American experience, award-winning journalist Lee Hawkins unpacks his family history and upbringing, his father’s painful nightmares and past, and goes deep into discussions to understand those who may have had similar generational - and present day - experiences. What Happened In Alabama? is a series to end the cycles of trauma for Lee, for his family, and for Black America."

Hawkins is the author of I Am Nobody's Slave: How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me Free

Published by Harper-Collins January 2025
ebook ISBN:  978-0-06-282318-2
hardcover ISBN:  978-0-06-282316-8

The passage of Jim Crow laws in the Southern states during the late 19th century and early 20th century affect generations of people to this day. What we do now will affect generations to come.

posted by otherchaz (2 comments total)

Many of the Jim Crow laws remain on the books, I suppose, waiting to pop back into existence when the Supremes reverse the decisions that stick them down.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 4:55 PM on March 21 [3 favorites]

How many bodies are buried in the mines of Shelby county?
posted by eustatic at 4:11 AM on March 22 [3 favorites]