“Slavery in the President’s Neighborhood: The Complicated Past and the Paradoxical Relationship Between Slavery and Freedom in the Nation’s Capital with Matthew Costello and Lina Mann”
Launched by the White House Historical Association in February 2020, the Slavery in the President’s Neighborhood research initiative seeks to identify enslaved and free African Americans who built, lived, and worked at the White House. Association Senior Historian Dr. Matthew Costello and Historian Lina Mann discussed the initiative and its online features, as well as some of their discoveries thus far as they seek to return these individuals to the historical forefront.
About the Panelists:
Matthew Costello joined the Association in November 2016 after completing his Ph.D. and M.A. in American history at Marquette University. He received his B.A. in history and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He previously worked on the George Washington Bibliography Project for the George Washington Papers at the University of Virginia. He has received research fellowships from Marquette University, the Virginia Historical Society, the United States Capitol Historical Society, and the Fred W. Smith National Library at Mount Vernon. He has published articles in The Journal of History and Cultures, Essays in History, The Dome, and White House History. His book, The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President was published by University Press of Kansas in fall 2019 and was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. Matthew also teaches a course on White House history at American University. Continue reading Matthew’s biography
Lina Mann first joined the White House Historical Association in 2017 as American University’s Public History fellow and came onboard as a historian in March 2020. She is interested in many different aspects of White House history, including her latest research on the enslaved individuals that built, lived, and worked in the White House. As a lifelong Marylander, she also researches local and regional history. Previously, she has worked with the National Park Service and the Maryland Historical Society. Lina received her Bachelor of Arts in History with minors in Anthropology, Environmental Studies, and Museum Studies from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2016 and earned her Master of Arts in Public History from American University in 2019. Continue reading Lina’s biography
