Between Freedom and Equality
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256 pp., 6.5 x 9.5 Hardcover ISBN: 9781647120818 (1647120810) June 2021 EXPLORE THIS TITLE DescriptionTable of Contents Reviews |
Between Freedom and Equality
The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC
An original history of six generations of an African American family living in Washington, DC Between Freedom and Equality begins with the life of Capt. George Pointer, an enslaved African who purchased his freedom in 1793 while working for George Washington's Potomac Company. It follows the lives of six generations of his descendants as they lived and worked on the banks of the Potomac, in the port of Georgetown, and in a rural corner of the nation's capital. By tracing the story of one family and their experiences, Between Freedom and Equality offers a moving and inspiring look at the challenges that free African Americans have faced in Washington, DC, since the district's founding. Barbara Boyle Torrey is the former executive director of the Division of the Behavioral and Social Sciences at the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. She has authored two local histories and edited three books.
Reviews
"Between Freedom and Equality is a moving narrative of Washington, DC told through the lives of one of its founding families. From working with George Washington to fighting in the Civil War, this family's story reveals the ingenuity, genius and courage of the Black Washingtonians who formed and shaped their city for the better, even as others worked to exclude and destroy them. Between Freedom and Equality is an outstanding example of collaboration between researchers and descendants working to restore a long-denied history. It stands as a powerful reminder that the stories of so many heroes of our past have been buried because they were Black. Between Freedom and Equality works to undo some of that damage, giving us the histories of American heroes who may never have been given monuments, but who can still inspire us today."—Anna-Lisa Cox, award-winning author of The Bone and Sinew of the Land "Barbara Torrey and Clara Myrick Green, with the partnership of Tanya Hardy and James Fisher, have produced a stirring, thorough, and surprisingly optimistic history of Black Washington through the six generations of the George Pointer family. Stirring because it is a dramatic story of freedom amid slavery and its aftermath. Thorough because it is deeply and often serendipitously researched. And optimistic because it documents this family's ability to isolate itself from racism by owning land in DC until white powers take that land away. It also weaves the fabric of times when segregation was not so rigid and isolating. As American society experiences a renewed need for historical context, Between Freedom and Equality meets the moment."—Jane F. Levey, managing editor, Washington History, magazine of the DC History Center "Torrey and Green's years of painstaking research are revealed in details large and small that bring the Pointer family to life. . . . The result of their tireless efforts is a rich journey through two centuries of Washington DC—and American—history, as lived by George Pointer and his descendants."—Faith Mitchell, fellow, the Urban Institute Table of Contents Foreword by James Fisher and Tanya Gaskins Hardy Foreword by Maurice Jackson Introduction 1. From Slavery to Freedom 2. The Risks of Freedom in a Slave State 3. Nat Turner's Long Shadow 4. The Gathering Storm 5. The First Regiment US Colored Troops at War 6. Reconstruction and Retreat 7. At Home in Georgetown 8. Migrating North 9. Dry Meadows and the Encroaching City Appendix 1. Letter Facsimile and Transcription of the Petition of Capt. George Pointer, September 5, 1829 Appendix 2. The Family Tree of George Pointer Appendix 3. The Adventure of Genealogy About the Authors Notes Index |