This might become more of a rant, but I doubt it.  This book needs more circulation, and Black History needs more attention.  See the book review first:

A Free Man of Color and His Hotel: Race, Reconstruction, and the Role of the Federal Government by Carol Gelderman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here is another important book on Black History in DC that I read in 2013, but neglected to review, in the rush to finish editing Stayed on Freedom’s Call. This book details the success of a man who rose to importance and wealth in DC before the Civil War, and is generally not spoken about on the DC Tour circuit. That was part of what I tried to include in my walking tours of different parts of the city, and I hope is remembered in the new free walking tours of various neighborhoods of DC.

View all…