Book Review

The Black History of the White House

Submitted by Adrian on

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.”
-Michelle Obama

These words were spoken by Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention and with these words have come much curiosity.

Yes!  This is true.  The White House and a great deal of Washington D.C. were built by free men and slave labor.  Slaves were used to perform many of the tasks and functions necessary, unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled. Most of these slaves were leased or rented from their owners.  

A couple of years ago I read a book that went into this as well as many little known facts surrounding the White House.  The title of the book is “The Black History of the White House” and besides being a history of the White House from the “Black” point of view, and showing the history of Black people.