Author Clarence Lusane spoke at the Miller Center of Public Affairs Friday about his book, "Black History White House," as part of the Miller Center's commemoration of Black History Month.
When City Light Books approached Lusane, an associate professor at American University, to write a book about Barack Obama, he was initially hesitant because of the large number of already published works which talk about the first black president breaking down barriers.
Lusane said he wanted to take a novel approach to the familiar narrative of the revolutionary black president which seemed to dominate the public sphere.
"I wanted to talk about something that wasn't being covered," Lusane said. "I realized that part of what we were going through as a nation was re-imagination. When we thought about presidents before 2008 we thought of white guys. Obama forced us to re-imagine what the presidency was. I wanted to frame Obama's rise within a historical context."
Lusane said he hoped the stories would draw attention to the complex history of race, as well as the White House's symbolic role throughout history. He said he aimed to commemorate those whom history had forgotten, such as the slaves owned by twelve different presidents.
"Commemoration is exceedingly important because memory is important, and how we remember things and how we publicly remember things sets the tone for how the country thinks of itself and presents itself," Lusane said.
Lusane said he endeavored to reintroduce racial complexity to the historical narrative of the United States.
"We want our students to not have easy answers," Lusane said. "We want people to see things in as complicated and real a way as possible. Hopefully these stories will open up the space."
Fourth-year College student Morgan Bryne-Diakun said he found Lusane's goal of commemorating lost voices especially relevant to the University, noting that while Thomas Jefferson is the figurehead most associated with the University, people often fail to acknowledge the complexity of his life.
"They think that he wrote the Declaration of Independence, founded the University, and yeah, he owned slaves and had a thing with Sally Hemmings, but people don't actually look at the history of those black individuals," Bryne-Diakun said. "I think it's good to recognize that there are other histories going on other than what we see on the surface as a majority."
Initially, Lusane anticipated his book would be a 150-page history of black involvement in the country's founding. As he began his research though, Lusane said he uncovered numerous untold stories about black individuals who had shaped the nation, causing his published book to total more than 550 pages.
"As I began research I found a third motivation, to give voice to those who had been voiceless throughout this history," Lusane said.
Lusane is currently researching the impact Obama's election has had in discourses and practices in race around the world.
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