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Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital Hardcover – November 6, 2017

by Chris Myers Asch (Author), George Derek Musgrove (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 217 ratings
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Monumental in scope and vividly detailed, Chocolate City tells the tumultuous, four-century story of race and democracy in our nation's capital. Emblematic of the ongoing tensions between America's expansive democratic promises and its enduring racial realities, Washington often has served as a national battleground for contentious issues, including slavery, segregation, civil rights, the drug war, and gentrification. But D.C. is more than just a seat of government, and authors Chris Myers Asch and George Derek Musgrove also highlight the city's rich history of local activism as Washingtonians of all races have struggled to make their voices heard in an undemocratic city where residents lack full political rights.

Tracing D.C.'s massive transformations--from a sparsely inhabited plantation society into a diverse metropolis, from a center of the slave trade to the nation's first black-majority city, from "Chocolate City" to "Latte City--Asch and Musgrove offer an engaging narrative peppered with unforgettable characters, a history of deep racial division but also one of hope, resilience, and interracial cooperation.
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  1. Print length
    624 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The University of North Carolina Press
  4. Publication date
    November 6, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1469635860
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1469654720
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The authors embrace the funk band Parliament's moniker for the District of Columbia and deliver a narrative as grand as the city itself. . . . This enriching journey showcases the underappreciated saga of African-American success in the face of adversity."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

An ambitious, comprehensive chronicle of the civic experience of blacks, whites and other races over more than two centuries in Washington. . . . [It] succeeds in being both scholarly and accessible to the general reader."—Robert McCartney, Washington Post

An ambitious, kaleidoscopic history of race and politics in Washington, D.C. . . . Essential American history, deeply researched and written with verve and passion."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

An important addition to the bookshelf of anyone who studies race, particularly in an urban setting, as well as scholars of the District of Columbia."—Journal of Southern History

A terrific achievement and a major work of scholarship that deserves to be recognized as the new starting point, and the new standard, for understanding DC political history."—H-Net Reviews

Well-researched and concisely written. . . . Chocolate City is an illuminating study to understand the complex history of race in the nation's capital."—Journal of North Carolina Association of Historians

Review

Chocolate City is the most important archivally grounded monograph in decades to take on the vast sweep of Washington's historical terrain—from earliest colonization of the Potomac tidewaters through gentrification in the twenty-first-century capital. Asch and Musgrove have paired their ambitious scope with a detailed examination of race and power to provide both continuity of scholarly purpose and a powerful argument for focusing consistently on civic flashpoints in this key laboratory of the American experiment. An essential and masterful contribution not only to the study of Washington, D.C., but also to U.S. and urban history generally!"—Christopher Klemek, author of Transatlantic Collapse of Urban Renewal

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1469654725
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press (November 6, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 624 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1469635860
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1469654720
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.12 x 1 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 217 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Chris Myers Asch

    Chris Myers Asch

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    A native of Washington, D.C., Chris Myers Asch teaches history at Colby College and serves as Editor of Washington History magazine. He taught with Teach For America in rural Mississippi and co-founded the Sunflower County Freedom Project. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, and he is the author of The Senator and the Sharecropper: The Freedom Struggles of James O. Eastland and Fannie Lou Hamer (2008). His latest book is Chocolate City: Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital (2017) with G. Derek Musgrove. He and his wife have three children.

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  2. George Derek Musgrove

    George Derek Musgrove

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    George Derek Musgrove is an Associate Professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is the author of Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How the Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America (University of Georgia Press, 2012) and a number of popular and scholarly articles on post-civil rights era black politics and Washington, D.C. He received his Ph.D. in U.S. history from New York University in 2005, and lives with his wife and two sons in Washington, D.C.

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
217 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the story thoroughly engaging and highly informative about the history of the nation's capital. They also appreciate the well-researched and fantastic writing style.

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ContentWriting styleStory
8 customers mention "Content"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly informative, well researched, and fantastic. They also say it's an engaging and highly informative history of the nation's capital.

"...the political and social landscape of Washington DC (DMV) area - well researched and fantastic writing, BravoMalik IsmailAuthor" Read more

"...from what I've seen (and looked ahead to find) it's an exemplary and extraordinary history of the US capital, and a model of historical understanding..." Read more

"With illuminating research and superb writing, Chocolate City takes the reader through the tortured history of race in the nation’s capital from the..." Read more

"This book is a superb history of the painful history of racial relations in Washington, D.C. The Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction used D.C...." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing style"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style superb and worth a read. They also say the book is told with the liveliness of a novel.

"...landscape of Washington DC (DMV) area - well researched and fantastic writing, BravoMalik IsmailAuthor" Read more

"...Aimed at a general audience, the engaging writing makes the reader feel like she is back in the Nineteenth Century witnessing the fight for..." Read more

"...it's solidly based, factually supported history, written with enormous energy and drive -- a scholarly study, but written for the general reader..." Read more

"With illuminating research and superb writing, Chocolate City takes the reader through the tortured history of race in the nation’s capital from the..." Read more

5 customers mention "Story"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the story engaging, highly informative, and provides important context for understanding the city today. They also say the book is aimed at a general audience and the engaging writing makes the reader feel like she is.

"...Aimed at a general audience, the engaging writing makes the reader feel like she is back in the Nineteenth Century witnessing the fight for..." Read more

"...The writing is fluid and engaging. They tell you a page-turning story while weaving in a clear thesis about the cycles of race relations that..." Read more

"...Written in a thoughtful, engaging, and easy-to-read manner, the book brings to life three centuries-worth of fascinating characters that shaped the..." Read more

"A thoroughly engaging, highly informative history of our nation's capital...." Read more

Fascinating history of DC.
5 out of 5 stars
Fascinating history of DC.
Fascinating book. I am a native Washingtonian. The authors have provided a riveting account of how my hometown has changed overtime. It ain’t CHOCOLATE CITY ANYMORE ☹️☹️☹️.
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Top reviews from the United States

James Malik Ismail
5.0 out of 5 stars Chocolate City
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
Excellent historical overview of the political and social landscape of Washington DC (DMV) area - well researched and fantastic writing, Bravo

Malik Ismail
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Gregg Costa
5.0 out of 5 stars the engaging writing makes the reader feel like she is back in the Nineteenth Century witnessing the ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
This fascinating and important book is a welcome departure from most of what history professors write today. It is not a narrow study of one event, but history on a grand scale that vividly recounts the 400-year history of race relations in our capital. That is an ambitious canvas that this exhaustively researched book fills, but "Chocolate City" speaks even more broadly. While highlighting the unique aspects of the District's history, the book draws lessons that ring true for much of America.
What stands out most about this book is that the impressive detail does not come at the cost of lively prose. Aimed at a general audience, the engaging writing makes the reader feel like she is back in the Nineteenth Century witnessing the fight for emancipation or at the kitchen table of community organizers in the 1940 and 50s when the fight for integration was accelerating. Few history books do such a good job of bringing to life the individuals who shape our history, some famous but many not.
This is must read for anyone who lives in Washington, those with an interest in African-American or urban history, and most of all, those who want to read a great book that will teach them something new on every page and captivate them with a story that is often tragic but also uplifting.
15 people found this helpful
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Jehoshephat
5.0 out of 5 stars A US history for everybody to read
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2018
Verified Purchase
I'm still reading the book, but from what I've seen (and looked ahead to find) it's an exemplary and extraordinary history of the US capital, and a model of historical understanding. I'd hope it will be read by any and all Americans, and by others as well. As other reader/reviewers have already remarked, it's solidly based, factually supported history, written with enormous energy and drive -- a scholarly study, but written for the general reader anywhere from teenagers through older folks. The combination of national perspectives and local details is masterly. The understanding that actual history does not happen in chopped-up eras and unconnected locations is created through the threads that the 2 authors set up early on, starting in the chapter on the decision to create the District of Columbia, aka the "Seat of Government" where the governing bodies would "reside," and reappearing thereafter. Many aspects of all future discussions and developments of race, freedom, slavery, states' rights and federalism, rural and urban societies, North and South, are born or at least sown in the 1780s and 1790s, and hold the book together in a tremendous sort of collage or even kaleidoscope. I read a lot of US history, and this is zooming to the top of my list. In addition, on a purely personal note, I'll add that I've lived in DC for almost 6 years, and the book is enlightening me a great deal on aspects of the city that I love or regret or find myself completely confused about, more than any other US city where I've spent time (Boston, NYC, the SF Bay Area). It's a treasure.
5 people found this helpful
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Marie
4.0 out of 5 stars Fine book for people who haven't read any DC history books
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2018
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Unfortunately I've read a ton of DC history books and there is a lot left out, but if this book were any longer I would not have finished it. It focuses on the racial political history of DC from the time of first contact with Native Americans and makes its way to 21st century gentrification. However, it gets stuck it seems in the 19th century. The 20th century flows quickly whereas the previous century is constipated. Maybe it's editing, or writing style, the subject matter or a variety of things that bog down that part of the book. If I didn't have to read it for a book group, I probably would have put the book down. One person didn't finish the book, getting stuck in the 1800s. Another person just skipped the boring parts and moved on to the mid 20th century chapters.
I won't list what's missing in this history, that would be a laundry list. Also the book is long enough as it is. There is little to no social history. The Black church is only mentioned if it serves the political racial narrative. Marion Barry's substance abuse and womanizing is acknowledged but not explored. Somewhat missing are a lot of primary sources that weren't used and instead the authors use a lot of secondary sources. It regurgitated a lot of Washington Post articles.
I gave it four stars despite its faults because it made me see things I've read about before dozens of times differently. It was a slightly different DC history. Also the later chapters are the saving grace. I might recommend reading this in small doses at a time.
6 people found this helpful
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Laura Gilbert
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential history with the vividness of a novel
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
With illuminating research and superb writing, Chocolate City takes the reader through the tortured history of race in the nation’s capital from the 17th century through President Obama. Slavery, Jim Crow, white flight, school and housing desegregation battles, riots, the fight for self-rule, drugs – the conflicts between the country’s ideals and the sometimes shameful reality on the streets, in the shadow of the Capitol, are told with the liveliness of a novel. Vivid portraits of the players bring this essential history to life.

I was engaged on every page and when I reached the last one was left with a feeling of great loss – the chocolate city, the nation’s first major city with a majority black population, is today a majority white city, the result of “beautification” and urban development intended to bring in wealthier residents at the expense of neighborhoods black residents called home.
5 people found this helpful
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