🎙️ Episode 10

What Pulitzer Prize-Winning David Levering Lewis Discovered About His Family & Our History (Part 1)

What happens when one of the most respected historians in America turns his lens inward?

In this powerful conversation, David Levering Lewis, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of W.E.B. Du Bois, shares what he uncovered when he began exploring his own family history.

This episode moves beyond scholarship into something deeply personal. What begins as a journey of grief and reflection becomes a profound discovery, one that reveals unexpected truths about lineage, identity, and the complex history woven into Black American lives.

🔍 What You’ll Hear in This Episode
The story behind David Levering Lewis’ decision to write his own family history
How personal loss led to a deeper exploration of ancestry and legacy
The surprising discovery of his connection to a Southern slaveholder
The layered realities of Black lineage in America beyond simplified narratives
Why documenting your own family history matters now more than ever
The role of historians in preserving truth in a time of erasure and misinformation
How Black history is central, not peripheral, to the American story
🧠 Key Themes
Our Truth, Our History, Our Story
Family lineage and hidden histories
Black intellectual and cultural legacy
Historical erasure and reclaiming narrative power
The intersection of personal memory and public history
Documentation as resistance
💬 A Defining Idea from This Episode

History is not just what we inherit, it is what we choose to uncover, understand, and preserve.

📣 Resources / Links

📘 Learn more about David Levering Lewis’ book
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622811/the-stained-glass-window-by-david-levering-lewis/

🏆 Pulitzer Prize profile
https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/david-levering-lewis-0

🎬 Share the film
W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel with a Cause premieres May 19, 2026
Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kMsik6rDQM

📄 Transcript available here
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598323

📺 Watch the episode
https://www.youtube.com/@ritacoburn9240

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598323/episodes

🔗 Stay connected
https://linktr.ee/ritacoburnmedia

🎬 About the Series

Our Truth, Our History, Our Story (Our THS) explores the people, ideas, and cultural forces shaping Black history and storytelling today.

👥 Production Credits

Host: Rita Coburn
Executive Producer: Andrew T. Carr
Producers: Christine Coburn Whack, H. Lee Whack