“The Garretts of Columbia” — a Black History Month book discussion

Dr. David Nicholson will discuss his book, “The Garretts of Columbia: A Black South Carolina Family from Slavery to the Dawn of Integration.” Nicholson is a former book reviewer and editor for The Washington Post Book World.

His book is a “warts-and-all” family history that begins with the story of an enslaved African who bought his freedom in 1819. The book focuses on the life and career of Casper George Garrett (called Papa in the book), a lawyer, newspaper editor and publisher, college professor, and activist for the rights of laymen in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. But it is also the story of Mama and Papa’s children, men and women who became Pullman porters, post office clerks, and child-care workers. Their number also included a dentist, a woman who earned a doctorate from Columbia, and a son who wrote a musical with Langston Hughes. This event will be held in the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church Assembly Room, located at 310 Tulip Ave, Takoma Park, Maryland. Light refreshments will be served.