First published 2017
Elizabeth Dowling Taylor chronicles the forgotten story of America's original Black elite through Daniel Murray's remarkable journey. Born free in Baltimore, Murray climbed to become Assistant Librarian at the Library of Congress while building wealth as a construction contractor. He married an educated socialite and moved within Washington D.C.'s highest African American social circles, alongside the first Black senators and congressmen. The Murray children attended Harvard and Cornell. Taylor shows how Murray and his peers stood ready to join mainstream American society as educated, accomplished citizens. Yet Jim Crow laws crushed their prospects. The federal government abandoned Reconstruction and ignored white supremacist violence that destroyed Black progress. Taylor reveals how this elite class proved African Americans possessed full capability for achievement when given education and opportunity. Their systematic destruction makes clear that white supremacist claims about Black inferiority were deliberate lies. The book illuminates a tragic chapter where demonstrated Black excellence was violently suppressed rather than celebrated.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, african-american, 19th-century, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-drama, social-justice
Setting: Baltimore, Washington D.C.
Period: 19th Century, Reconstruction Era
512 pages · Hardcover · Amistad
Content warnings: racism, violence