pulpdrew reviewed Chocolate City by Chris Myers Asch
Review of 'Chocolate City' on 'GoodReads'
4 stars
This book is a detailed, somewhat lengthy account of the history of race in Washington, DC. While the authors focus mostly on Black and white relations, they do also cover Irish, Catholic, Chinese, and Native American history, when it is relevent to the history of DC. Though the topic of DC racial history may seem niche, it's clear after reading the book that much of history of racial relations in the US runs parallel to the history of race relations in DC. It's also clear that much of DC's history and politics, including its current disenfranchisement and demographics, is tied to racism in the city and the in the rest of the country.
Though I find many history books to be disorganized and hard to read, Chocolate City is quite readable and well-structured. The authors offer historical context when appropriate, synthesize accounts of individual activists into cohesive narratives, and avoid …
This book is a detailed, somewhat lengthy account of the history of race in Washington, DC. While the authors focus mostly on Black and white relations, they do also cover Irish, Catholic, Chinese, and Native American history, when it is relevent to the history of DC. Though the topic of DC racial history may seem niche, it's clear after reading the book that much of history of racial relations in the US runs parallel to the history of race relations in DC. It's also clear that much of DC's history and politics, including its current disenfranchisement and demographics, is tied to racism in the city and the in the rest of the country.
Though I find many history books to be disorganized and hard to read, Chocolate City is quite readable and well-structured. The authors offer historical context when appropriate, synthesize accounts of individual activists into cohesive narratives, and avoid preaching any particular political ideology - even if one could hardly blame them for doing so. Overall, this is a good book if you think you might be interested in the history of DC or racism in the US.