August 2004

Monticello's new bicentennial journal is well-produced and written, but disappointing. While historian John Conway deserves credit for his original narratives, village officials with final say over the book's overall content have reduced it to a promotion for local good ol' boys. We could have seen more (even anything) on the role of people of color in building Monticello, 1804 to present. Apart from paid ads, the only black face in the book is that of Chubby Checker, who once visited.