Michele Norris
Photo Credit: Mary Noble Ours Michele Norris is one of the most trusted voices in American Journalism. Her voice informs, engages and enlightens listeners with thoughtful interviews and in depth reporting as one of the hosts of NPR’s flagship afternoon broadcast, All Things Considered. Michele uses an approachable interviewing style that is at once relaxed and rigorous. She’s interviewed world leaders, nobel laureates, oscar winners, American Presidents, military leaders, influential newsmakers and even astronauts traveling in outer space. In her first book she turns her formidable interviewing and investigative skills on her own background to unearth long hidden family secrets that raise questions about her racial legacy and shed new light on America’s complicated racial history. Before joining NPR in 2002, Michele spent almost ten years as a reporter for ABC News in the Washington Bureau. She has also worked as a staff writer for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Michele has received numerous awards for her work. In 2009, she was named “Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Black Journalists. NABJ recognized Norris for her body of work, in addition to her coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign — when she co-hosted NPR’s Democratic presidential candidates debate, covered both conventions, anchored multi-hour election and inauguration live broadcasts and moderated a series of candid conversations with voters on the intersection of race and politics. That series earned Michele and Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep an Alfred I. Dupont -Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcasting. A four-time Pulitzer Price entrant, Norris has also been honored with NABJ’s 2006 Salute to Excellence Award, for her coverage of Hurricane Katrina; the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Achievement Award; and the 1990 Livingston Award for a series about a six-year-old who lived in a crack house. That series was reprinted in the book, Ourselves Among Others, along with essays by Vaclav Havel, Nelson Mandela, Annie Dillard and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. She was named one of Essence Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Black Americans in 2009; elected to Ebony Magazine’s Power 150 list in 2009; and honored with Ebony’s 8th Outstanding Women in Marketing & Communications Award, in 2007. Norris also earned both an Emmy Award and Peabody Award for her contribution to ABC News’ coverage of 9/11. She is on the judging committee for both the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the Livingston Awards. Norris is also a frequent guest on Meet the Press and The Chris Matthews Show on NBC. She attended the University of Wisconsin, where she majored in electrical engineering and graduated from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she studied journalism. She lives in Washington D.C. with her husband Broderick Johnson, an attorney with their two young children and an adult step-son. The Grace of Silence: A Memoir is Michele’s first book.
8 Books Written
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, Kansas City Star.A profoundly moving and deeply personal memoir by the co-host of National Public Radio’s flagship program All Things Considered . While exploring the hidden conversation on race unfolding throughout America in the wake of President Obama’s election, Michele Norris discovered that there were painful secrets within her own family that had been willfully withheld. These revelations—from her father’s shooting by a Birmingham police officer to her maternal grandmother’s job as an itinerant Aunt Jemima in the Midwest—inspired a bracing journey into her family’s past, from her childhood home in Minneapolis to her ancestral roots in the Deep South. The result is a rich and extraordinary family memoir—filled with stories that elegantly explore the power of silence and secrets—that boldly examines racial legacy and what it means to be an American.
Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity
by Michele Norris
Rating: 4.6 ⭐
Peabody Award–winning journalist Michele Norris offers a transformative dialogue on race and identity in America, unearthed through her decade-long work at The Race Card Project.The prompt seemed simple: Race. Your Story. Six Words. Please Send.The answers, though, have been challenging and complicated. In the twelve years since award-winning journalist Michele Norris first posed that question, over half a million people have submitted their stories to The Race Card Project inbox. The stories are shocking in their depth and candor, spanning the full spectrum of race, ethnicity, identity, and class. Even at just six words, the micro-essays can pack quite a punch, revealing, fear, pain, triumph, and sometimes humor. Responses such You’re Pretty for a Black girl. White privilege, enjoy it, earned it. Lady, I don’t want your purse. My ancestors massacred Indians near here. Urban living has made me racist. I’m only Asian when it’s convenient.Many go even further than just six words, submitting backstories, photos, and a collection much like a scrapbook of American candor you rarely get to see. Our Hidden Conversations is a unique compilation of stories, richly reported essays, and photographs providing a window into America during a tumultuous era. This powerful book offers an honest, if sometimes uncomfortable, conversation about race and identity, permitting us to eavesdrop on deep-seated thoughts, private discussions, and long submerged memories.The breadth of this work came as a surprise to Norris. For most of the twelve years she has collected these stories, many were submitted by white respondents. This unexpected panorama provides a rare 360-degree view of how Americans see themselves and one another.Our Hidden Conversations reminds us that even during times of great division, honesty, grace, and a willing ear can provide a bridge toward empathy and maybe even understanding.
Spectrum of a Colored Existence
by Michele Norris
This first collection of poetry from Ms. Norris was inspired by the author's love of Black Poetry. Ms. Norris is the Administrator of the groundbreaking, and currently retired, therevolutionarypoetssociety website. From the book's back cover: "Spectrum of a Colored Existence" represents the way words paint pictures to tell a story. My poems are an array of color from the darkest hue to the lightest of color. It also represents the way I look at life, through a kaleidoscope that God has blessed me with. I hope that you enjoy the journey.
Stay Active, Stay Strong—All from the Comfort of Your Chair!Aging doesn’t mean slowing down—it means moving smarter. 100 Easy Chair Exercises for Seniors is your go-to guide for staying fit, flexible, and pain-free without ever leaving your seat. Whether you’re dealing with joint pain, mobility issues, or just want a low-impact way to stay active, these chair exercises will help you maintain strength, balance, and energy—safely and comfortably.Do Any of These Sound Familiar?You want to stay active, but standing for long periods feels exhausting.Joint pain, arthritis, or mobility challenges make traditional workouts tough.You need a safe, gentle way to build strength and improve posture.You’re recovering from an injury and need a low-impact fitness routine.You want to boost circulation, manage weight, or improve heart health without strain. Good You Don’t Need to Stand to Stay Strong Chair exercises are a simple, effective way to keep your body moving while reducing the risk of strain or injury. This book gives you 100 seated exercises designed to help you feel stronger, move better, and stay independent at any age. Now, Imagine If You Keep your muscles strong and your joints flexible without discomfort or fatigue.Reduce stiffness, pain, and inflammation with gentle, targeted movements.Improve your balance and coordination, lowering your risk of falls.Stay active, energized, and confident in your body, no matter your mobility level. Inside This Easy-to-Follow Guide, You’ll 100 Illustrated Chair Exercises – Step-by-step instructions for every move.Full-Body Workouts – Strengthen your arms, legs, core, and improve posture.Gentle Flexibility and Mobility Routines – Reduce stiffness and move with ease.Balance and Coordination Drills – Perfect for stability and fall prevention.Seated Cardio Workouts – Boost circulation and support heart health.Exercises for Specific Conditions – Relieve arthritis, osteoporosis, and more.Cool-Down and Relaxation Techniques – Soothe sore muscles and promote overall wellness.No Experience? No Start small and progress at your own pace.Adapt exercises to match your mobility and comfort level.Stay motivated with simple, effective routines you can do anywhere.Aging doesn’t have to mean losing strength or independence. Take charge of your health today—one seated exercise at a time.Scroll up and click Buy Now to start moving toward a stronger, healthier you.
Help?: An amusing, and occasionally harrowing, tale of one working woman’s patchwork of daycare, babysitters, au pairs and nannies.
by Michele Norris
Help?: An amusing, and occasionally harrowing, tale of one working woman’s patchwork of daycare, babysitters, au pairs and nannies.
by Michele Norris
Help?: An amusing, and occasionally harrowing, tale of one working woman’s patchwork of daycare, babysitters, au pairs and nannies.
by Michele Norris
An amusing, and occasionally harrowing, tale of one working woman's patchwork of daycare, babysitters, au pairs and nannies.In an era well before the internet and cell phones, entrusting au pairs from Berlin to Brazil, the reader can decide - who was really helping who?