Weighs: 2.4 ounces
Back Cover Copy
Millions of people visit the National Mall, the White House, and the U.S.
Capitol each year. If they only hear the standard story, a big question remains:
“Where’s the black history?”
Packed with new information and archival photos, Black Men Built the Capitol
answers this question. In this thoroughly researched yet completely accessible volume, Washington insider and political journalist Jesse J. Holland shines a light
on the region’s African-American achievements, recounting little-known stories
and verifying rumors, such as:
• Enslaved black men built the Capitol, White House, and other important
Washington structures.
• Philip Reid, a thirty-nine-year-old slave from South Carolina, cast and helped
save the model of the Statue of Freedom that sits atop the Capitol Dome.
• The National Mall sits on the former site of the city’s most bustling slave market.
• The grounds that are now Arlington National Cemetery were, from 1863 to
1888, a self-sustaining village for former slaves called the Freedman’s Village.
Included are hundreds of places in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and
Virginia that illuminate “the rest of the story” for Washington residents and visitors
alike.
About The Author
Jesse Holland is an Associated Press reporter covering Congress 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.
Reader Reviews
I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about Washington, DC that I had never known before. Mr. Holland writes with a light, easy-to-read style but his content is anything but light. Holland moved to DC only to discover that histories made little mention of the African-American contributions to our nation's capital. So he set out to change that, and this book is the result. Each page uncovers new facts about how 'black men built the capitol', as well as the 'capital'. What makes this an indispensable guidebook is that Holland starts each section with the standard history of an area or landmark and then gives the reader the 'rest of the story', adding the African-American perspective. If you are looking for a book to teach you about DC, a fascinating city by any standard, this is a good one. If you are looking for a book to learn about DC from an African-American perspective, this is a great one. I lived in DC for nine years, and thought I knew it well. Jesse Holland showed me, a white American who has a degree in history, just how little I actually knew. Valuable, entertaining, and should be in every history classroom in the DC area. Illustrated with maps and photos, including a section of color photos. Rob Morris, author of Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crewmen Over Europe in World War Two.
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