The People’s House: The Power and Presence of African Americans in the White House

A new anthology celebrating the African American voices that influenced and shaped the history of the White House.

A Penguin Classic

The People’s House is an anthology comprised primarily of first-person accounts, from the eighteenth century to the present, detailing the Black experience in the White House and illustrating how African Americans have influenced the presidency and public policy throughout America’s 250-year history.

The collection’s diverse perspectives—from dressmakers and domestic staff members to abolitionists and civil rights activists, as well as cabinet members, presidential candidates, and elected officials—trace not only the history of African Americans in the nation’s most recognizable institution, but also how African Americans have used their power and presence in the White House to push the nation closer to its democratic ideals.

Through the words of Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Thurgood Marshall, Shirley Chisholm, Colin M. Powell, Barack Obama, and dozens of other figures, both prominent and lesser-known, this anthology offers an expansive and intimate view of the White House as a critical site in the ongoing struggle for Black freedom and equal citizenship.

Each entry is accompanied by commentary from editors Michelle D. Commander and Kathleen M. Kendrick, providing biographical information and historical context to help readers better understand how African Americans have shaped the story and meaning of the People’s House.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the greatest works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes from distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as updated translations by award-winning translators.