A Cut Above: The Williamses Integrate LeDroit Park
Mar 2025 · NYLA
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150
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About this ebook
From the acclaimed author of Carolina Built comes the compelling story of Octavius Williams, the younger brother and only sibling of Josephine Napoleon Williams Leary—a tale of courage, perseverance, family, love, and the triumph of the human spirit.
In 1893, as the Gilded Age waned and the turn of the 20th century loomed, Octavius and his pregnant wife, Missouri, made history by becoming the first Black residents of LeDroit Park, a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Washington, D.C.
The Williamses' bold decision to integrate the area would pave the way for LeDroit Park to become a storied and culturally rich enclave for icons like poet and novelist Paul Laurence Dunbar, journalist and activist Mary Church Terrel, and author, educator, and speaker Dr. Anna Julia Haywood Cooper.
Follow the Williamses' experiences, including encountering violent whites who didn't want them there, raising their daughter Vivian in a new city nearly 250 miles from their home and family in Edenton, and Octavius obtaining a position as an official barber at the US Capitol.
"Kianna Alexander breathes life into forgotten historical matriarch Josephine Leary, a budding entrepreneur born into slavery and raising herself to power after the Civil War as a community investor and savvy businesswoman. Josephine's moving struggle to build family and fortune will strike a chord in a story that is both timely and timeless—Carolina Built is an exuberant celebration of Black women's joy as well as their achievements!"
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code, on Carolina Built
In 1893, as the Gilded Age waned and the turn of the 20th century loomed, Octavius and his pregnant wife, Missouri, made history by becoming the first Black residents of LeDroit Park, a neighborhood in the northeastern part of Washington, D.C.
The Williamses' bold decision to integrate the area would pave the way for LeDroit Park to become a storied and culturally rich enclave for icons like poet and novelist Paul Laurence Dunbar, journalist and activist Mary Church Terrel, and author, educator, and speaker Dr. Anna Julia Haywood Cooper.
Follow the Williamses' experiences, including encountering violent whites who didn't want them there, raising their daughter Vivian in a new city nearly 250 miles from their home and family in Edenton, and Octavius obtaining a position as an official barber at the US Capitol.
"Kianna Alexander breathes life into forgotten historical matriarch Josephine Leary, a budding entrepreneur born into slavery and raising herself to power after the Civil War as a community investor and savvy businesswoman. Josephine's moving struggle to build family and fortune will strike a chord in a story that is both timely and timeless—Carolina Built is an exuberant celebration of Black women's joy as well as their achievements!"
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code, on Carolina Built
About the author
Like any good Southern belle, Kianna Alexander wears many hats: doting mama, advice-dispensing sister, fun aunt and gabbing girlfriend. She's a voracious reader, an amateur seamstress and occasional painter in oils.She has a passion for history and an endless curiosity. Kianna is proud to tell stories where Black women are loved, valued, and thriving. A native of the TarHeel state, Kianna still lives there while maintaining her collection of well-loved vintage 80's Barbie dolls.
Find out more about Kianna and her books by visiting her website
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