Politics & Prose at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V, welcomes Jesse Holland to present his new book The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House.
Holland gave us an unconventional and eye-opening tour of D.C. in Black Men Built the Capital, pointing out the many iconic buildings and monuments—including the Capital Dome’s Statue of Freedom—constructed at least in part by enslaved men. In his second book Holland, a longtime AP Washington correspondent who now serves the organization as the race, ethnicity and demographics writer, focuses on the many and far-reaching and often overlooked roles African Americans played in the history of the White House. Ten of the first twelve presidents were slave owners, and they brought slaves with them to the capital; Holland fleshes out the lives of these men and women, recounts their experiences in the new capital, and profiles the early chief executives’ attitudes on race.
