Between Freedom and Equality: The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)
Green, Clara Myrick Author
Fisher, James Author of introduction, etc.
Hardy, Tanya Gaskins Author of introduction, etc.
Jackson, Maurice Author of introduction, etc.
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Description
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.
The story begins with an 1829 letter from Pointer that is preserved today in the National Archives. Inspired by Pointer’s letter, authors Barbara Boyle Torrey and Clara Myrick Green began researching this remarkable man who was a boat captain and supervisory engineer for the Potomac canal system. What they discovered about the lives of Pointer and his family provides unique insight across two centuries of Washington, DC, history.
The Pointer family faced many challenges—the fragility of freedom in a slaveholding society, racism, wars, floods, and epidemics—but their refuge was the small farm they purchased in what is now Chevy Chase. However, in the early twentieth century, the DC government used eminent domain to force the sale of their farm and replaced it with an all-white school. Between Freedom and Equality grants Pointer and his descendants their long-overdue place in American history.
This book includes a foreword by historian Maurice Jackson exploring the significance of the Pointer family’s unique history in the capital. In another very personal foreword, James Fisher, an eighth-generation descendant of George Pointer, shares his complex emotions when he learned about his ancestors. Also featured in this important history is a facsimile and transcription of George Pointer’s original letter and a family tree.
Royalties from the sale of the book will go to Historic Chevy Chase DC (HCCDC), which has established a fund for promoting the legacy of George Pointer and his descendants.
Between Freedom and Equality follows George Pointer–an enslaved African who purchased his freedom in 1793–and six generations of his descendants as they lived and worked in Washington, DC, granting the family their long-overdue place in American history.
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Published Reviews
Choice Review
Genealogical research is challenging for the famous; it is even more challenging for those, including African Americans, who are less conspicuous in records. This slim volume telling the story of George Pointer and his descendants of six generations is affirmation of the challenges though illustrative of appropriately contextualized genealogy. More than simply chart the Pointer family, the authors sketch the historical context in which they lived, covering the transition from slavery to freedom (after the purchase of that freedom), the important participation of African Americans in the development of transportation infrastructure such as canals and roads, the role of both free Black people and slaves in the Civil War, and the struggles of African Americans to maintain their familial lives in the increasingly segregated, rapidly growing metropolis of Washington, DC, through the 1920s. The narrative documents the Great Migration in extending the family story beyond Washington, DC, to New York City and Buffalo. As important as the text itself, an appendix discussing genealogical sources and their pitfalls will be useful to genealogists and historians. Although the writing is burdened at times with an inappropriate presentism, the book is a solid contribution to genealogical and historical literature. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. --Thomas F Armstrong, formerly, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, UAE
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Citations
Torrey, B. B., Green, C. M., Fisher, J., Hardy, T. G., Jackson, M., & Cooper, L. M. (2021). Between Freedom and Equality: The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC (Unabridged). Tantor Media, Inc.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Barbara Boyle Torrey et al.. 2021. Between Freedom and Equality: The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC. Tantor Media, Inc.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Barbara Boyle Torrey et al.. Between Freedom and Equality: The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC Tantor Media, Inc, 2021.
Harvard Citation (style guide)Torrey, B. B., Green, C. M., Fisher, J., Hardy, T. G., Jackson, M. and Cooper, L. M. (2021). Between freedom and equality: the history of an african american family in washington, DC. Unabridged Tantor Media, Inc.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Torrey, Barbara Boyle, et al. Between Freedom and Equality: The History of an African American Family in Washington, DC Unabridged, Tantor Media, Inc, 2021.
Copy Details
| Collection | Owned | Available | Number of Holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libby | 2 | 2 | 0 |