First published 2010
Michele Norris, cohost of NPR's All Things Considered, begins investigating America's hidden conversations about race following Barack Obama's presidency. She plans to focus on other families' stories until shocking discoveries force her to examine her own history. Norris learns her father was shot by a Birmingham police officer after returning from World War II navy service. She discovers her maternal grandmother worked as a traveling Aunt Jemima, selling pancake mix to white farm women across the Midwest. These revelations shatter her assumptions about her family and herself. Norris travels from Minneapolis to the Deep South, seeking answers about why her parents kept these painful truths hidden. Through interviews with ordinary Americans and meticulous research, she explores how silence shaped her identity and character. The book examines both encouraging and troubling shifts in American racial attitudes while revealing how family secrets influence personal understanding.
Genres: african-american, autobiography, biography-memoir, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, hidden-history
Setting: Birmingham, Deep South, Minneapolis, Midwest
Period: World War II, Post-World War II
Audio CD · Random House Audio
Content warnings: racism