Alexis Okeowo’s ‘Blessings and Disasters’ is an ode to Alabama’s complicated history

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4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

Alexis Okeowo grew up in Alabama. But it wasn’t until they left for college that Okeowo realized the strong stereotypes outsiders held about their home state. With their new book Blessings and Disasters, the New Yorker staff writer blends memoir and reporting to tell an alternate history of Alabama. In today’s episode, Okeowo speaks with NPR’s Emily Kwong about those who are often excluded from the state’s history, including the Poarch Creek Indians and Alabama’s West African communities.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I guess I can't speak for other states,
0:07.0	but in Maryland, where I live, people love showing their state pride through stuff. You know,
0:13.5	crabs, beers, Old Bay, our chaotic looking flag, you know what I mean. But really, at the end of the
0:19.3	day, many people love their home state
0:21.5	because of other people. That's at least true of Alexis O'Kewo, who is from Alabama. It is a state
0:28.8	that is often both misunderstood and maligned, but she's got a new book out titled Blessings and
0:34.0	Disasters, The Story of Alabama. It's part memoir, part reporting on the people
0:38.7	that make up Alabama. And in this interview with Empire's Emily Kwong, Okawa talks about the
0:43.5	importance of talking to people often left out of the story of Alabama. That's ahead.
0:49.8	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:54.7	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.
1:01.2	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:08.5	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your
1:12.1	podcasts. Yellowhammer, Camellia, Southern Long Leaf Pine. These are all symbols of Alabama,
1:21.0	the home state of Alexis Akeow, a staff writer at the New Yorker and daughter of Nigerian immigrants,
1:26.8	who wanted to write a book about what it means to love the place where she's from while still acknowledging its sins.
1:33.8	That book is called Blessings and Disasters, a story of Alabama.
1:38.2	Alexis Akeow joins me now. Hi, welcome to All Things Considered.
1:42.4	Hi, thank you for having me.
1:44.6	You know, relationship to your home state is a very personal thing.
1:47.7	Can you tell us the story of what happened that made you want to write this?
1:51.8	Yeah, so Alabama, to me, has always been home.
	...

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