Walker on ‘How To Make A Slave’: NPR’s Fresh Air

Writing, Literature and Publishing professor Jerald Walker was interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air program, as his new book How to Make a Slave and Other Essays, published this month, is a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Nonfiction. Walker discusses his youth growing up in Chicago and raising his sons in a mostly white suburb, among other experiences as a Black man.

The book includes reflections on his experiences with racial profiling, discussing race with his children, and meditations on disability and family, “all told with a wry comedic eye and deep honesty,” according to the National Book Foundation. Winners of the book award will be announced live at the virtual National Book Awards Ceremony on November 18.

Listen to the audio segment on NPR.