It might have taken 10 years for the federal government to
recognize the hidden history of the slaves that were kept at the
site where the President’s House is commemorated by an open-air
museum but the reality is that it has taken more than 200 years.
City officials and community leaders officially opened the long-
awaited President’s House this week with the appropriate fanfare
and emotional commentary. The site, which commemorates the
location where America’s first and second presidents resided,
has been a focal point of controversy because of the fact that
George Washington maintained nine African slaves there. “The
issue of slavery remains a problem for us in America. During the
construction there were people who contended that the site is
too much about slavery and there were people who contend that we
didn’t do more about the horrors of slavery,” said project
director Rosalyn McPherson. The commemorative site tells the
story of America’s beginnings and the at least nine enslaved
Black Americans who toil