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“African
Americans made the District of Columbia into the internationally-respected
city that it is today and their work should be recognized,”
Holland said. “While others got the credit _ and the
money _ for their work, it was African American slaves
like Philip Reid, who cast the Statue of Freedom on
top of the Capitol Dome, and others who made the U.S.
Capitol and Washington, D.C into the beacon of liberty
it is today. The American people should honor these
men and women more than one month a year, but it’s nice
to see them finally getting some recognition.”
Holland's book, which was published by Globe Pequot
Press on September 1, is the first book to discuss in
detail the contributions of African Americans in building
the Capitol and the White House, as well as the appearances
of African Americans in art throughout the Capitol.
Black
Men Built The Capitol: Discovering African American
History In and Around Washington, D.C. tells the
story of the African American contributions to the U.S.
Capitol, the White House and the National Mall, as well
as other sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland
and Virginia.
Among
the highlights of "Black Men Built The Capitol:"
- Several places inside and outside the Capitol can
be directly linked to slave labor, including parts of
the Statuary Hall, the old Senate chamber and the exposed
original stone work of the East Front extension of the
Capitol.
- The only African American with his signature on U.S.
currency, Blanche Bruce of Mississippi, was also the
first African American to serve a full term in the U.S.
Senate and the only African American senator with his
painting in the U.S. Capitol.
- Only one African American appears twice in Capitol
artwork: Rep. Joseph Rainey of South Carolina, who was
the first African American to serve a full term in Congress.
- There is only one statue of an African American in
the Capitol: a bust of Martin Luther King in the Rotunda.
However, two statues are in the planning stages for
eventual display in the Capitol, one of civil rights
icon Rosa Parks and the other of abolitionist Sojourner
Truth.
- The National Mall was the site of several slave markets
visible from the U.S. Capitol, including two locations
near the current Department of Education.
- The first tell-all book about life inside the White
House was written by an African American slave, Paul
Jennings, who was owned by President James Madison.
- The first White House chef was supposed to be an African
American. James Hemings, a former slave of Thomas Jefferson
and the brother of alleged Jefferson mistress Sally
Hemings, was recruited by Jefferson to become the head
chef at the White House once the Virginian won the presidency
but refused the job.
- An African American engineer, Archibald Alexander,
is responsible for the construction of the Tidal Basin
seawall and the Tidal Basin bridge on the National Mall
where many of the city’s famous cherry blossoms bloom
in the spring.
- Sojourner Truth was the most famous resident of an
African American village, Freedman's Village, which
was torn down and replaced with parts of Arlington National
Cemetery. She was also responsible for the desegregation
of public transportation in the District of Columbia.
Jesse J. Holland has covered politics from the U.S.
Capitol and the White House for The Associated Press
since 2000, and has been interviewed by national media
on a variety of topics, including African American contributions
to the Capitol, the White House and the National Mall.
Holland, who was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi,
is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the National
Association of Black Journalists and the Washington
Association of Black Journalists.
More information about Black Men Built The Capitol:
Discovering African American History In and Around Washington,
D.C. can be found at www.jessejholland.com
and at www.globepequot.com
Holland will be discussing and signing copies of his
book at two Washington, D.C. libraries during Black
History Month _ Cleveland Park Library on February 5
and the Southeast Neighborhood Library on February 26
_ as well as appearing at the AfroCentric Book Expo
in Prince George’s County, Maryland on February 23 and
at the Banneker Douglass Museum in Annapolis, Maryland
on March 1. For more information about Holland’s appearances,
see his Web site at www.jessejholland.com
Black
Men Built The Capitol: Discovering African American
History In and Around Washington, D.C. is published
by Globe Pequot Press, based in Guilford, Conn. Globe
Pequot is the world's leading publisher and distributor
of outdoor recreation and leisure titles. The company,
a division of Morris Communications, annually publishes
more than 500 titles and distributes 300 new titles
yearly for other publishers.
For a preview copy, contact Robert Sembiante at Globe
Pequot Press at 203-458-4555, or e-mail at robert.sembiante@globepequot.com.
For interview requests, contact Jesse J. Holland at
jesse@jessejholland.com.
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