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African-Americans and the White House

By: Rebecca Sheir // April 8, 2011
  
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Clarence Lusane, author of "The Black History of the White House", is the program director for Comparative and Regional Studies at American University.
Rebecca Sheir
Clarence Lusane, author of "The Black History of the White House", is the program director for Comparative and Regional Studies at American University.

The White House is a symbol of American power all over the world. But for many African-Americans, this most famous of American homes also represents a rarely discussed history of exclusion and inequality. Rebecca Sheir talks with Clarence Lusane, author of The Black History of the White House, about the ties between the White House and people of African descent, from the slaves and servants who worked there, to the activists who visited in the name of social and racial justice.

[Music: "Black & Tan Fantasy" by Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington from The Great Summit: The Master Takes]

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