Interview With An Author: NPR Personality Michele Norris Unveils Family's Racial Roots in Moving Memoir

Filed under: Interviews, Hot Picks, Reviews

If you have ever listened to National Public Radio's flagship program 'All Things Considered,' you are familiar with co-host Michele Norris's calm and steady voice. It comes easy for her; she has been a journalist for years, serving as a correspondent for ABC News, and reporting for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times newspapers. Last year, she was named "Journalist of the Year'' by the National Association of Black Journalists.

She is known for always asking the hard questions. But now, her voice is amplified as she turns the spotlight on herself in 'The Grace of Silence: A Memoir,' a poignant portrait of her family, where she eloquently uncovers long buried secrets. She learns, for example, that her maternal grandmother, Ione Brown, worked as Minnesota's version of "Aunt Jemima,'' serving up hundreds of pancakes on the road.

And in a recurring narrative of the memoir, she learns that her father, Belvin Norris, was shot by a white police officer in Birmingham, Alabama, shortly after being honorably discharged from service in World War II. It happened during his second week home. He and two friends were waiting in a lobby to attend a get-together when suddenly a policeman showed up and tried to prevent them from going to the party. A struggle ensued, the officer seized his weapon and a bullet grazed Norris's leg.

Norris writes candidly about her family's history in this must-read memoir that she wrote in the wake of the election of President Barack Obama, which brought about America's so-called post-racial society.

Norris, who lives in Washington with her husband, talked candidly with BlackVoices.com. Excerpts are below.

BV on Books: When did you first realize this was a story you had to tell?

Michele Norris: I had first set out to write a book about the hidden conversation about race in America and when I first started learning about the secrets my family had kept hidden from my generation I initially thought I would include some of that information in an anecdotal way. I wanted to tap into the honest conversation so I figured that I would be honest about what I heard when I listened to the honest conversation in my own family. But over time I just could not let that story go. I had to know more about what I had uncovered and I needed to understand how those things shaped me even though it was never spoken about at home.

BV: One of the greatest strengths of 'The Grace of Silence' is the attention you pay to individual lives and personal stories. Was it hard to get people to open up?

MN: I was frequently surprised by how quickly people opened up outside of my family. I had to work a lot harder to get my relatives to open up about our lives but once that spigot opened I learned amazing things. In the end I just had to wait people out. I sensed that they wanted to tell their story but I had to wait for the signal that they were ready and to help us get to that point, I tried to hold conversations over food. It is amazing how food can put people at ease and stir old memories. I guess that is why they call it comfort food.

BV: What was the most surprising thing you discovered?

MN: This project was full of surprises but the most earth shattering by far was the discovery that my father was shot by a police officer as a young man and kept the secret hidden from his family until he died of cancer at the age of 62.

BV: Have you encountered any criticism for bringing these stories into the light?

MN: I have encountered discomfort from people who were initially reluctant to put the stories out in the public but that subsided over time with the realization the stories, however uncomfortable, offered important lessons

BV: What's next for Michele Norris?

MN: I always write my future in pencil.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments