An Important Book Yet to Be Written

Yesterday I visited the new museum at the African burial ground. It does a fairly good job of explaining the role of African slaves in the early development of New Amsterdam and New York. But visiting brought up another issue - why no one has written a definitive history of Blacks in New York City.

Sure, you can pick up the story in pieces. Stories of slavery, of early settlements in Greenwich Village, black blocks near the Ladies Mile, San Juan Hill and Harlem, but no one has yet tied it all together. San Juan Hill, a ghetto located where the Metropolitan Opera stands today, is of particular interest to me, probably because my apartment looks out on it. I know DuBois lived there, and Thelonious Monk was raised there, and it featured regular Saturday night brawls with the Irish neighbors from Hell's Kitchen. But I can't find out much more.

Please - somebody write this book!