A Free Man of Color and His Hotel

A Free Man of Color and His Hotel PDF Author: Carol Gelderman
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1597978337
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
A Free Man of Color and His Hotel weaves the story of a uniquely successful black businessman into the burgeoning post–Civil War political struggle that pitted the federal government against the states’ desire to remain autonomous. Born in Washington, D.C., James Wormley worked as a hacker in his father’s livery stable there and as a steward on Mississippi River steamboats before establishing his own catering and boardinghouse businesses. During a period of limited opportunity for African Americans, he built and operated D.C.’s luxurious Wormley Hotel at a time when most financial and governmental business was conducted in hotels. Not only did a number of notable diplomats and politicians live at the hotel, but because of its location in the city’s commercial and political center, Wormley also hosted Washington’s movers and shakers. Wormley’s rise, however, occurred as three landmark decisions by the Supreme Court effectively dismantled Reconstruction and led to the Plessy v. Ferguson decision that legalized segregation. This cautionary tale illustrates how key Supreme Court decisions hindered other African Americans’ potential successes after Reconstruction. By examining the issue of states’ rights in terms of one man’s against-the-odds success, Carol Gelderman shows how these same issues are still relevant in a postsegregation United States.

A Free Man of Color and His Hotel

A Free Man of Color and His Hotel PDF Author: Carol Gelderman
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN: 1597978337
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Get Book Here

Book Description
A Free Man of Color and His Hotel weaves the story of a uniquely successful black businessman into the burgeoning post–Civil War political struggle that pitted the federal government against the states’ desire to remain autonomous. Born in Washington, D.C., James Wormley worked as a hacker in his father’s livery stable there and as a steward on Mississippi River steamboats before establishing his own catering and boardinghouse businesses. During a period of limited opportunity for African Americans, he built and operated D.C.’s luxurious Wormley Hotel at a time when most financial and governmental business was conducted in hotels. Not only did a number of notable diplomats and politicians live at the hotel, but because of its location in the city’s commercial and political center, Wormley also hosted Washington’s movers and shakers. Wormley’s rise, however, occurred as three landmark decisions by the Supreme Court effectively dismantled Reconstruction and led to the Plessy v. Ferguson decision that legalized segregation. This cautionary tale illustrates how key Supreme Court decisions hindered other African Americans’ potential successes after Reconstruction. By examining the issue of states’ rights in terms of one man’s against-the-odds success, Carol Gelderman shows how these same issues are still relevant in a postsegregation United States.

A Literary Guide to Washington, DC

A Literary Guide to Washington, DC PDF Author: Kim Roberts
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813941180
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
The site of a thriving literary tradition, Washington, DC, has been the home to many of our nation’s most acclaimed writers. From the city’s founding to the beginnings of modernism, literary luminaries including Walt Whitman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Henry Adams, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston have lived and worked at their craft in our nation’s capital. In A Literary Guide to Washington, DC, Kim Roberts offers a guide to the city’s rich literary history. Part walking tour, part anthology, A Literary Guide to Washington, DC is organized into five sections, each corresponding to a particularly vibrant period in Washington’s literary community. Starting with the city’s earliest years, Roberts examines writers such as Hasty-Pudding poet Joel Barlow and "Star-Spangled Banner" lyricist Francis Scott Key before moving on to the Civil War and Reconstruction and touching on the lives of authors such as Charlotte Forten Grimké and James Weldon Johnson. She wraps up her tour with World War I and the Jazz Age, which brought to the city some writers at the forefront of modernism, including the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, Sinclair Lewis. The book’s stimulating tours cover downtown, the LeDroit Park and Shaw neighborhoods, Lafayette Square, and the historic U Street district, bringing the history of the city to life in surprising ways. Written for tourists, literary enthusiasts, amateur historians, and armchair travelers, A Literary Guide to Washington, DC offers a cultural tour of our nation's capital through a literary lens.

The White House's Unruly Neighborhood

The White House's Unruly Neighborhood PDF Author: Edward P. Moser
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476636931
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Chronicling the sometimes outlandish, often tragic history of the environs of the White House, this book covers two centuries of assassinations, slave escapes, deadly duels, sex scandals, battles, brawls and spy intrigues that took place in the presidential neighborhood, Lafayette Square. The author recounts the triumphs and catastrophes of heroes and villains both famous and unsung, placing them in the context of contemporary world events of the day.

The Lost Southern Chefs

The Lost Southern Chefs PDF Author: Robert F. Moss
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820368733
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description


Antoine of Oak Alley: The Unlikely Origin of Southern Pecans and the Enslaved Man Who Cultivated Them

Antoine of Oak Alley: The Unlikely Origin of Southern Pecans and the Enslaved Man Who Cultivated Them PDF Author: Katy Morlas Shannon
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1455625752
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The story of Antoine is emblematic of countless enslaved people whose lives and contributions have been overlooked. Antoine, the enslaved gardener of Oak Alley Plantation, was the first person to successfully propagate the pecan tree yet he exists only as a footnote in the bigger story of Oak Alley Plantation. His pioneering work enabled large groves of trees to be planted creating a lucrative commercial crop and though his horticultural achievement has long been legend, virtually nothing is known about his life. Historian Katy Morales Shannon utilizes extensive research and period documents to expose his story and explore the lives of the enslaved community in which he lived. The life of this truly revolutionary enslaved man is revealed through the lives of his family and friends, the community they built, and the bonds they forged during their enslavement and their life as free people.

The Frederick Douglass Papers

The Frederick Douglass Papers PDF Author: Frederick Douglass
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300218303
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 715

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Book Description
A second volume of the collected correspondence of the great African-American reformer and abolitionist features correspondence written during the Civil War years The second collection of meticulously edited correspondence with abolitionist, author, statesman, and former slave Frederick Douglass covers the years leading up to the Civil War through the close of the conflict, offering readers an illuminating portrait of an extraordinary American and the turbulent times in which he lived. An important contribution to historical scholarship, the documents offer fascinating insights into the abolitionist movement during wartime and the author's relationship to Abraham Lincoln and other prominent figures of the era.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet PDF Author: Jamie Ford
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345512502
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
"Sentimental, heartfelt….the exploration of Henry’s changing relationship with his family and with Keiko will keep most readers turning pages...A timely debut that not only reminds readers of a shameful episode in American history, but cautions us to examine the present and take heed we don’t repeat those injustices."-- Kirkus Reviews “A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." -- Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain “Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.” -- Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol. This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry’s world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While “scholarshipping” at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship–and innocent love–that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept. Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel’s dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family’s belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice–words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago. Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart. BONUS: This edition contains a Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet discussion guide and an excerpt from Jamie Ford's Love and Other Consolation Prizes.

God's Free-Man

God's Free-Man PDF Author: Ted Freeman
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing
ISBN: 1649133413
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 407

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Book Description
God’s Free-Man: An American Tale of Perseverance: A Life in Service By: Ted Freeman God’s Free-Man is a historical presentation guided by God that delineates the capture of Harry and Kate Freeman, who were the co-founders of the city of Auburn, New York. Taken and made slaves from Guinea, Africa, they were freed by the Mansfield Decree in England and came to the colonies as indentured servants, fought in the Revolutionary War, and created one of the most important stations and terminals during the Underground Railroad Movement. Further in, Freeman delves into how their sons played pivotal roles in one of the most tumultuous times in American history. From the pain and agony of their grandson’s murder spree that introduced the plea of insanity to America’s jurisprudence to the excitement of a grandson who worked closely with Secretary of State William Seward and Harriet Tubman, the story of the Freemans brings to light a segment of American history waiting to be heard.

The Haunted South

The Haunted South PDF Author: Alan Brown
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439671036
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
Southerners love the South. And some souls never leave. Savannah, New Orleans and St. Augustine are among the most haunted places in America, and chilling stories abound nearly everywhere below the Mason-Dixon line. At Seaman's Bethel Theater in Mobile, Alabama, actors and staff are frightened by the unnerving sounds of a child's laughter. The ghost of Alfred Victor DuPont, a noted ladies' man, is said to harass female employees in the stairwell at DuPont Mansion in Louisville, Kentucky. The Café Vermilionville is housed in what is reputed to be Lafayette's first inn. A young girl in a yellow dress, thought to be a previous owner's daughter who died from polio around the time of the Civil War, startles patrons from the balcony of the restaurant. Join author Alan Brown as he traverses the supernatural legends of the American South.

The Color of Water

The Color of Water PDF Author: James McBride
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408832496
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
_______________ 'A triumph' - New York Times Book Review 'A startling, tender-hearted tribute to a woman for whom the expression tough love might have been invented' - The Times 'As lively as a novel, a well-written, thoughtful contribution to the literature on race' - Washington Post _______________ MORE THAN TWO YEARS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST _______________ From the New York Times bestselling author of Deacon King Kong and The Good Lord Bird, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, came this modern classic that Oprah.com calls one of the best memoirs of a generation and that launched James McBride's literary career. As a boy in Brooklyn's Red Hook projects, James McBride knew his mother was different. But when he asked her about it, she'd simply say 'I'm light-skinned.' Later he wondered if he was different too, and asked his mother if he was black or white. 'You're a human being! Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody!' she snapped back. And when James asked about God, she told him 'God is the color of water.' This is the remarkable story of an eccentric and determined woman: a rabbi's daughter, born in Poland and raised in the Deep South who fled to Harlem, married a black preacher, founded a Baptist church and put twelve children through college. A celebration of resilience, faith and forgiveness, The Color of Water is an eloquent exploration of what family really means. _______________ 'Inspiring' - Glamour 'Vibrant' - Boston Globe 'A wonderfully evocative, moving book' - Literary Review