Black Gotham: Origins of Gilded Age New York's Black Elite
A chat with esteemed author and scholar, Dr. Carla Peterson, about the growth of the prosperous black professional class in the 19th century up to the Gilded Age. Dr. Peterson's work revealed a fascinating story that had up until then barely been told.
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Show Notes
One of the most fascinating story lines in Season One of the HBO series "The Gilded Age" was that of the young black writer Peggy Scott and her Brooklyn family. Elements of Peggy's father's character were based on scholar Dr. Carla Peterson's own ancestral family.
In her groundbreaking book, Black Gotham: A Family History of African-Americans in Nineteenth Century New York City, Dr. Peterson sheds light on how this community grew, how diverse the community actually was, and she provides insight into leading figures and their contributions often missing in standard accounts of the period.
In this episode Dr. Peterson discusses the path of her own research, which ultimately revealed a richer, deeper sense of community and identity than many realized.
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