Tracking down bits of information about a �white Haitian� in her family�s history, Peterson stumbled onto a trove of historical information on black life in nineteenth-century New York. Peterson relates the history of her family and, through them, the broader context of life for African Americans then, defying assumptions about the history of slavery and freemen in New York. Theirs was a vibrant life before Harlem became synonymous with black New Yorkers, a life of achievement in business, politics, and the professions. Peterson focuses on her great-grandfather, pharmacist Philip White, and great-great-grandfather, Peter Guignon, a friend of prominent black leaders, including Alexander Crummell, Henry Highland Garnet, and George Allen. Each was part of a highly educated and activist elite that survived the Draft Riots of 1863 and the destruction of the Colored Orphan Asylum, among other incidents of racial strife. More than a family memoir, this is a chronicle of historic research to unveil a New York history of African Americans that challenges assumptions that a black elite did not exist before the twentieth century. --Vanessa Bush
“Carla Peterson travels the well known streets of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to uncover the rich and hidden history of New York's black elite in the nineteenth century. That the book arose from her research into her own family history reminds us that in all of our families lies the story of this country.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University
(Henry Louis Gates, Jr. )
“Dr. Peterson took a hard, uphill journey to give greater life to the ‘scraps’ she had about her family in nineteenth-century New York City and returned with a vital gift for all of us. It is a gift that not only offers a portrait of her family in that city but a larger, fairly unknown view of a pre-Harlem integrated society where many blacks were prosperous, enlightened, and thriving. Her book is a precious addition to the paucity of information we have about what blacks have done to make New York City and, indeed, America itself.”—Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Known World
(Edward P. Jones )
Won Honorable Mention in the 2011 New York Book Festival Biography/Autobiography Category, sponsored by the New York Book Festival
(Biography/Autobiography Honorable Mention
New York Book Festival )
"Carla Peterson's Black Gotham presents the best, most detailed portrait of New York City’s nineteenth-century black elite. Using her own search for her family roots as a thread to pull the reader through the narrative, Peterson provides insight into the work lives, political roles, and personal lives of this small but highly influential group of black New Yorkers."—Leslie M. Harris, Emory University
(Leslie M. Harris )
“Carla Peterson's Black Gotham is at once a tender labor of love and a tour de force of historical scholarship; both a romantic journey into her family's past and a clear-eyed restoration of an essential, long-lost element in a people's history. A story of New York, it resounds with implications for all of America. Peterson deserves our rapt attention and our gratitude.”—Arnold Rampersad, Stanford University
(Arnold Rampersad )
“Black Gotham is a wonderful and rare portrait of New York City, told through the lens of a truly remarkable African-American family. Peterson's historical detective work is fascinating."—Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher
(Debby Applegate )
"What makes her seminal opus so significant is how she painstakingly reconstructs her forefathers' past in light of the overall African-American struggle for emancipation and equality in the 1800s. . . . Calra Peterson's overdue tribute to her intrepid ancestors [is] an invaluable addition to the annals of African-American literature."—Kam Williams, Arizona Informant
(Kam Williams
Arizona Informant )
"Black Gotham challenges many of the so-called truths about African-American history."—The Prince George's Post
(
The Prince George's Post )
Won an Honorable Mention for the 2011 American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence (PROSE) in the U.S. History category, as given by the Association of American Publishers
(PROSE Award in U.S. History Honorable Mention
Association of American Publishers 20120202)
Winner of the 2011 New York City Book Awards sponsored by the New York Society Library. The winning book must evoke the spirit of New York City, with the city playing an essential, invigorating role beyond that of the setting.
(New York City Book Award
New York Society Library 20120313)
Won Honorable Mention in the 2012 New York Book Festival General Non-Fiction category, sponsored by the New York Book Festival
(General Nonfiction Honorable Mention
New York Book Festival 20120612)
