Black Men Built the Capitol : Discovering African-American History in and Around Washington, D. C.

by Holland, Jesse J.

Edition: 1st

ISBN13: 9780762745364

ISBN10: 0762745363

Format: Paperback

Pub. Date: 2007-09-01

Publisher(s): Globe Pequot

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Summary

Historic sites along the Mall, such as the U.S. Capitol building, the White House and the Lincoln Memorial, are explored from an entirely new perspective in this book, with never-before-told stories and statistics about the role of blacks in their creation. This is an iconoclastic guide to Washington, D.C., in that it shines a light on the African Americans who have not traditionally been properly credited for actually building important landmarks in the city. New research by a top Washington journalist brings this information together in a powerful retelling of an important part of the country's history. This book will be a source of pride for African Americans who live in or come from the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area as well as for the 18 million annual African American visitors to the nation's capital.

Author Biography

Jesse Holland is an AP reporter covering the Supreme Court and is extraordinarly well placed among Washington's black power elite-- the political, legal, academic, and media communities. He took a year's sabbatical from the AP to conduct never-before-done research into the topics covered in this book.

Introduction
Foreword
A Brief History of Washington, D.C
The U.S. Capitol
The National Mall
Around Washington
Maryland
Virginia
Coming Soon
At A Glance
Bibliography
Chapter Summaries
Introduction
In the introduction, the author will introduce himself and illustrate the need for this book through personal anecdotes and stories from life in the Washington, D.C. political arena
Foreword
The author expects to have this written by a prominent politician or historian who will extol the need for this book
A Brief History of Washington, D.C
The first chapter will set up the rest of the book, telling the history of the District of Columbia and the African American participation in the creation of the nation’s capital
The U.S. Capitol (Chapter provided)
The National Mall
This chapter will take the reader through the rest of the African American contributions on the National Mall with the major sections featuring the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Tidal Basin and the Smithsonian Institution museums, as well as a tour of the locations of its now-dismantled slave markets and auction sites
Around Washington
This will be one of the longer chapters in the book, featuring the rest of Washington, D.C.’s major African American tourism sites including lesser known sites like the Mary McCloud Bethune Statue in Lincoln Park (the first African American statue erected in Washington, D.C. and still the only one dedicated to an African American woman) and the Frederick Douglass Museum and Hall of Fame for Caring Americans (Douglass’s first home in Washington, D.C. and the former home of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African Art), as well as more famous sites like Douglass’s Cedar Hill home in Anacostia and the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture
Maryland
Washington, D.C.’s northeastern neighbor has plenty of African American heritage sites, which will be featured in this chapter. This chapter’s subjects will range from the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore to the Alex Haley statue in Annapolis Harbor marking the spot where Kunta Kinte first entered the United States, and from the Harriet Tubman Memorial Gardens in Cambridge to the real “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in Bethesda
Virginia
Virginia was the nation’s largest slaveholding state, leading to a treasure trove of African American historic sites around the region including Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington and his slaves; Colonial Williamsburg with its reenactments of colonial slave life; and Jamestown, where the first African Americans were brought involuntarily to North America
Coming Soon (Chapter provided)
At A Glance
This chapter will consist of a spreadsheet-style chart which will give readers the vital information they need to visit the attractions listed inBLACK MEN BUILT THE CAPITOL: address, telephone number, Web site, hours of operation, distance from Washington, D.C.(if applicable)
Bibliography
A list of resources used in writing this book, and additional reading material for those interested in knowing more about Washington, D.C.’s African American history
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.