Lee Hawkins

Lee Hawkins is an investigative journalist and author who was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2022. He is a special correspondent and producer for American Public Media (APM) Studios, a recipient of the 2022-23 O'Brien Fellowship for Public Service Journalism, and the principal of his own production company that produces multimedia journalism projects.

A former reporter for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), where he worked for 19 years, Hawkins covers various dimensions of the entrepreneurship, corporate, and investing worlds, focusing on the generational effects of economic discrimination, including racial covenants, land theft, and the impact of economically motivated historical homicides on families of color.

His book," I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free," is an introspective journey into his family history, tracing its roots to pre-Revolutionary America. Utilizing genetic testing, investigative reporting, and historical documentation, 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.

Hawkins is also the series creator, producer, and writer of the 2024 longform podcast series What Happened in Alabama? for APM/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.

His journalism is supported by colleges, universities, and non-profits. A 2023-24 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism, he was also named the 2024 Josephine Albright Fellow by the Alicia Patterson Foundation and won the McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism. Previously, he was a 2022-23 O’Brien Fellow at Marquette University. Over 19 years at WSJ, he covered education and COVID-19’s impact on families, serving as a reporter, on-air host, and news editor. He was a lead reporter on the WSJ team that was a 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for its coverage of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, co-authoring a piece on its intergenerational impact.

Hawkins is a five-time winner of the “Salute to Excellence” Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism in 2021, and a Logan Nonfiction Fellowship recipient, among other honors and distinctions. A versatile journalist, he has reported across media platforms, including print, video, and television, conducting on-camera interviews with key newsmakers and reporting globally.