Pulitzer Prize winning author Colson Whitehead visits Cedar

On Thursday, Nov. 16, author and winner of the National Book Award Colson Whitehead visited the AP African American Studies class at Cedar Shoals high school. He answered student questions, talked about his book, “The Underground Railroad” and reflected on his experience being a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. 

Whitehead began the talk by answering a question about where he draws the inspiration for his books. He described his active imagination as a child and how he began reading comics at a young age. 

“When I was in sixth and seventh grade making up stories about superheroes and monsters, being a writer seemed fun. When I got to college I started reading the so-called ‘classics’ that introduced me to a new type of storytelling,” Whitehead said. 

Whitehead also gave advice to students looking to go into writing as a career. 

“You have to read a lot. If you like a writer and you read everything by him or her, ask yourself why you were drawn to their work. Why does it affect you in this way? And then, of course, you write. No one knows more than a great writer: the first efforts will be crappy,” Whitehead said. 

Whitehead went on to explain what inspired “The Underground Railroad.” 

“I was on my couch and I was remembering when I was a kid, before my teacher actually told me how it really was, thinking it (the Underground Railroad) was a real railroad. I got a fanciful idea: what if the Underground Railroad was a real railroad? I added the element that every state that Cora (the main character of the book) goes through is a different version of America, like ‘Gulliver’s Travels,’” Whitehead said. 

Whitehead also explained his research process, and how it differs between his books. For example, his semi autobiographical book “Sag Harbor,” about growing up in the 1980s, required very little research. 

“But for ‘The Underground Railroad,’ I was not there in the 1850s. I had to revisit some of the classic slave narratives like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas,” Whitehead said.

Much of the historical time period that “The Underground Railroad” is set in is covered in the AP African American Studies class. Senior Morgan Yearby, who had not read the book before Whitehead gave his talk, noticed that Whitehead’s research for the book overlapped with the curriculum for the course. 

“I could literally tell you off the top of my head the names of the ships, and who took who and where they went. It’s interesting to find out that we learned this in this class and he had to go research it,” Yearby said. 

Senior Delysia Griffith felt that the experience of talking to an author who writes about topics such as the Underground Railroad augmented her experience in the class. 

“African American Studies is the only social studies class that I’m interested in. Having him add on more information is really important because it shows that we can connect to different resources and dig deeper into what we’re learning,” Griffith said. 

“The Underground Railroad” was adapted into a television show for Amazon Prime in 2021. The series, which was directed by Oscar award-winning director Barry Jenkins, won a Golden Globe for best miniseries and a Peabody Award. 

“It was an incredible job, from the acting to the cinematography. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me,” Whitehead said. 

Whitehead’s visit was coordinated by AP African American Studies teacher Montu Miller. The visit was arranged with Miller’s friend and collaborator Dave Marr, communications director at the UGA Willson Center. Whitehead had been invited to speak at the Willson Center, and Marr reached out to Miller to see if a visit to Cedar would be possible. 

“He was like ‘How would you like for him to come to your classroom?’ and we just made it happen,” Miller said. 

Senior Jamyria Wise felt that Whitehead’s visit was significant because of what Wise feels is a gap in resources between Cedar and other schools. 

“I feel like it’s a really big accomplishment for Cedar. We usually get the short end of the stick and don’t get opportunities like other schools, and I feel like him being here shines a really bright light on the school,” Wise said.