Monumental in scope and vividly detailed, Chocolate City tells
the tumultuous, four-century story of race and democracy in our
nation's capital. Emblematic of the ongoing tensions between
America's expansive democratic promises and its enduring racial
realities, Washington often has served as a national battleground for
contentious issues, including slavery, segregation, civil rights, the
drug war, and gentrification. But D.C. is more than just a seat of
government, and authors Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove
also highlight the city's rich history of local activism as
Washingtonians of all races have struggled to make their voices heard
in an undemocratic city where residents lack full political rights.
Tracing D.C.'s
massive transformations--from a sparsely inhabited plantation society
into a diverse metropolis, from a center of the slave trade to the
nation's first black-majority city, from "Chocolate City"
to "Latte City”--Asch and Musgrove offer an engaging narrative
peppered with unforgettable characters, a history of deep racial
division but also one of hope, resilience, and interracial
cooperation.
