The Black History of the White House

February 7, 2011
Lusane (Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice) returns to the nation's highest office in his latest work, tracing the seldom-revealed contributions of black men and women in the White House, from the days of its construction to the present. He meticulously threads personal stories of slaves, builders, chefs, jazz performers, policymakers, and other historic figures (accompanied by occasional portraits) with sharp analyses of leaders facing the criticism and challenges of their times. Whether considering slave-owning presidents who publicly skirted their participation in the practice, exploring Emancipation, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement and its aftermath, or discussing contemporary instances, like the Beer Summit, and questioning whether the Obama presidency signals a post-racial era, Lusane offers a vital addition to American history. The thorough density with which he approaches his subject may slow the pace, but scholars will find an intelligent account of one the most controversial and revered seats of power. Lusane's effort is much more than a catchy title or revisionist tome: it's an eye-opening tribute and a provocative reminder of the many narratives that have gone untold. Photos.

November 15, 2010

Comprehensive, decidedly non-neutral, history of the African-American presence in American political life through perhaps its most representative place.

"The black history of the White House," writes scholar and journalist Lusane (Political Science/American Univ.; Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice: Foreign Policy, Race, and the New American Century, 2006, etc.), "begins in the pre-revolutionary period, during which future occupants of the White House first laid the foundation of what was to become more than two-centuries of race-based cruelty, exclusion, and violence." That sentence speaks directly to the outlook of this book, which carefully documents the travails of a polity in which African-Americans were so essential and prevalent, but that struggled endlessly to maintain, then dismantle, the institution of slavery, and then could never quite accept the notion that all people are created equal—an idea put to pen by Thomas Jefferson even as his slave Richard "quietly brought him his nightly tea." Lusane is unsparing. In his analysis, an icon such as Dolley Madison is found deeply wanting for having reneged on her promise to free her "mulatto man Paul," instead selling him at a bargain price—even after he had paid her to secure his freedom. The author capably uses the tools of sociology and history, but he seems most at home at the intersection of politics and popular culture. He writes engagingly of the long tradition of African-American opera stars appearing at the White House through the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, a tradition revived only during Franklin Roosevelt's first administration; and of the later tradition of jazz performances at the White House, one that only George H.W. Bush did not observe (though son George W. Bush did). Lusane closes with a consideration of African-American efforts to secure a political place within the White House, from Marcus Garvey to Shirley Chisholm, Dick Gregory, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and, of course, Barack Obama.

A lively, opinionated survey, telling a story that the textbooks too often overlook.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2010

Twenty-five percent of our Presidents were slaveholders; Lusane reminds readers of this mansion's place in African American history, from its very construction onward.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2011
Despite the racial progress represented by the election of the first black president of the U.S., the nations capital has a very complicated and often unflattering racial history. Lusane traces the racial history of the White House from George Washington to Barack Obama. He profiles slaves and free blacks who defied the barriers of racism, including Oney Judge and others owned by presidents who escaped to freedom; performers such as the enslaved musical prodigy known as Blind Tom, who performed at the White House; and Elizabeth Keckly, who served as seamstress and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln. From the very beginning, the tension between the nations ideals and the practices of its leaders produced glaring contradictions: Washingtons deliberate circumvention of the law to hold on to slaves while living in Philadelphia, Lincolns struggle to keep a fractious nation together and come to terms with his own racial biases, and the struggle of others to balance party and political concerns against a burgeoning civil rights movement. A sweeping portrayal of changing historical tides at the White House.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)