What Happened In Alabama?

What Happened In Alabama?

American Public Media

Episodes 16
Avg. Duration 38m
Activity Dormant
Since Apr 2024
Latest Episode Feb 2025

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every Few Days
Format
Serial
Hosting
feeds.publicradio.org

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

What Happened in Alabama? is a series born out of personal experiences of intergenerational trauma, and the impacts of Jim Crow that exist beyond what we understand about segregation. 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.

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Recent Episodes

S2E3 Action and Accountability

Feb 12, 2025 18m

Real estate accounts for 18% GDP and each home sale generates two jobs. It’s a top priority for state officials and business leaders across the country to build stable communities. In Minnesota,…

S2E2 The Perpetual Fight

Feb 12, 2025 23m

Racial covenants along with violence, hostility and coercion played an outsized role in keeping non-white families out of sought after suburbs. Lee learns how these practices became national policy…

S2E1 Integration Generation

Feb 12, 2025 22m

Host Lee Hawkins investigates how a secret nighttime business deal unlocked the gates of a Minnesota suburb for dozens of Black families seeking better housing, schools, and safer neighborhoods. His…

Bonus Episode: She Has A Name

Sep 19, 2024 37m

We have a special episode for you today. We’re sharing an episode of the podcast She Has A Name. Set against the backdrop of the drug epidemic in 1980s Detroit, She Has A Name blends elements of…

EP 10: Epilogue

Jul 17, 2024 26m

In the final episode of What Happened In Alabama, Lee considers the man his father became, despite the obstacles in his way. Later, Lee goes back to Alabama and reflects with his cousins on how far…

Ep 9: Death by Jim Crow

Jul 10, 2024 1h

Lee revisits his father Leroy’s final moments in the hospital, and tries to parse out what really led up to his father’s death. Later in the episode, Lee talks with Natalie Slopen, an assistant…

Ep 8: Maplewood, USA

Jul 03, 2024 1h 8m

When Lee’s parents moved to Maplewood in the mid ’70s, they were part of a wave of Black families integrating into majority white suburbs. They were seeking opportunity and safety, but were often met…

EP 7: Spare the Rod

Jun 26, 2024 1h 1m

Whooping. Spanking. Beating. Whatever you want to call it, corporal punishment was a central part of Lee’s upbringing. Growing up, he was made to believe that it was a Black custom but as an adult he…

Juneteenth

Jun 19, 2024 0m

We'll be back next week!TranscriptHey everyone, this is Lee Hawkins. Thank you so much for listening to What Happened In Alabama? We appreciate your attention and don’t take it for granted. We wanted…

EP 6: The Slave Codes

Jun 12, 2024 52m

Rules were a major part of Lee’s household growing up. But it wasn’t until he started to dig into his family’s history that he began to realize that the rules that he was expected to follow had a…

EP 5: Meet the Pughs

Jun 05, 2024 44m

When Lee got the results back from his DNA test, he was stunned to discover that he had pages and pages of white cousins. All his life he’d been under the impression that 95% of his DNA traced to…

EP 4: Black Land Loss

May 29, 2024 47m

Around 1910, Black farmers collectively owned over 16 million acres of farmland. A century later, over 90% of that land is no longer owned by Black farmers. In Lee’s own family, the acquisition and…

EP 3: The Legacy of Jim Crow

May 22, 2024 39m

Lee always knew that his father grew up during Jim Crow, but he never really understood what that meant as a child. In school he was taught that Jim Crow was all about segregation - separate but…

EP 2: Meet the Hawkins

May 15, 2024 38m

Growing up in a middle-class suburb in the 1980s often felt idyllic to Lee. It was the age of crank calls and endless summers playing outside. The Hawkins kids were raised by their parents to excel…

EP 1: Prologue

May 15, 2024 32m

When journalist Lee Hawkins was growing up, his father, Leroy, would have nightmares about his childhood in Alabama. When Lee was in his 30s, he started to have his own nightmares about his childhood…

Introducing: What Happened in Alabama?

Apr 30, 2024 4m Trailer

What Happened in Alabama? is a series born out of personal experiences of intergenerational trauma, and the impacts of Jim Crow that exist beyond what we understand about segregation. Through…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does What Happened In Alabama? have?

What Happened In Alabama? has published 16 episodes since April 2024, covering topics in History.

Is What Happened In Alabama? still active?

What Happened In Alabama? is currently dormant with new episodes every few days. Average episode length is 38m.

How do I contact What Happened In Alabama? for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for What Happened In Alabama?, including email and social media links.

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