The USF College of Arts and Sciences is set to welcome two-time Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead on Feb. 7 at the Marshall Student Center Oval Theater, as part of the signature lecture series Frontier Forum.
Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of “The Underground Railroad,” which was an Oprah’s Book Club selection and winner of the 2016 National Book Award and 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He was also named New York’s 11th State Author in 2018. His New York Times bestseller “The Nickel Boys” won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making him only the fourth writer to win two Pulitzers in the Fiction category.
During the event, Whitehead will discuss his meticulously researched and searing novel “The Nickel Boys” and highlight the real-life history and inspiration behind his acclaimed novel that tells the heart-wrenching story of two boys living under Jim Crow at one of the country’s most notorious juvenile correction institutions – a institution inspired by the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys.
Book cover for bestselling novel “The Nickel Boys.” (Photo courtesy of Penguin Random House)
The Dozier School for Boys, located in Marianna, Fla., was a reform school that operated for over a century, from 1900 to 2011. Originally named the Florida State Reform School and later the Florida School for Boys, it gained notoriety for allegations of systemic abuse, corporal punishment, and neglect. The institution was intended to rehabilitate delinquent and troubled youth, but over the years, reports surfaced of physical and emotional abuse inflicted upon the residents.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the Dozier School's history was the discovery of unmarked graves on the premises. Investigations, led by USF College of Arts and Sciences researchers such as Dr. Erin Kimmerle, director of the Institute for Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science, revealed evidence of many unidentified and improperly buried bodies, raising questions about the treatment and fate of some of the boys who were housed at the school.
The revelations about the school sparked public outcry and led to efforts to acknowledge and address the historical injustices associated with the institution.
Whitehead, whose fictionalized story is based on true events, showcases characters that are developed from the stories told by survivors of the school and the horrors that were uncovered during the investigations into the school.
“The College of Arts and Sciences is excited to host a novelist of Colson Whitehead’s caliber on campus. He is only the fourth writer to have won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction twice—along with Booth Tarkington, William Faulkner, and John Updike,” Magali Michael, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences said.
“We have asked him to speak about ‘Nickel Boys’, one of the two novels for which he won the prize, since it is based on historical events at the Dozier School for Boys in Florida and thus of particular relevance to our students and community members. Moreover, the novel has a link to USF in the sense that some of the information on which the novel depends was unearthed by the forensics research work of USF forensic anthropologist Dr. Erin Kimmerle and her team (her name appears in the novel’s acknowledgment). The novel asks its readers to confront a difficult past and think about issues of justice, which should engender thought-provoking conversation."
The event will begin at 7:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. To learn more and to register, visit the event webpage.