Gettysburg, PA – On Tuesday, March 31,the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College will host former Wall Street Journal reporter and author Lee Hawkins to deliver the annual Henry M. Scharf Memorial Lecture. Hawkins’ keynote address will focus on his book I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free (HarperCollins, 2025), a critically-acclaimed memoir tracing 400 years of his family through slavery, Jim Crow apartheid, and their intergenerational effects. The lecture will be followed by an audience-engaged conversation between Hawkins and Eisenhower Institute Executive Director Tracie Potts. Their conversation will explore politics and polarization in America, and share how liberal and conservative mentors taught him to become an original thinker embracing ideological diversity. The event takes place in Mara Auditorium, Masters Hall at 7:00 p.m.

Hawkins book is currently nominated for the 2026 NAACP Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Non-Fiction), earned starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal, was an Oprah Daily Black History Month pick, and an Amazon Editors’ Pick. He created and produced the 2024 APM/MPR podcast What Happened in Alabama?, named a “Best Podcast of the Year” by The Guardian and Audible and a Top-25 Apple Podcasts show. A 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist during his 19 years at The Wall Street Journal, he reports across print, audio, and video, using DNA analysis, genealogy, and oral history to surface buried truths. His honors include the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism, the McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism, and six National Association of Black Journalists “Salute to Excellence” awards. Raised in Minnesota’s historic Rondo community, he writes toward truth, healing, and repair.

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.

The lecture is open to students, faculty, and members of the community. The Henry M. Scharf Memorial Lecture on Current Affairs in 1977 was established by Dr. F. William Sunderman, a member of the class of 1919, to honor his long-time friend Henry Scharf. Scharf, a member of Gettysburg College’s Class of 1925, was the builder of the Majestic Theater—a venue for President and Mrs. Eisenhower frequented while in Gettysburg. Within the broad focus of “current events,” the annual lectures have provided a podium for many distinguished speakers.

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.