A Place Called Ilda

Race and Resilience at a Northern Virginia Crossroads

Tom Shoop

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English

University of Virginia Press
01 February 2024

Regional & national history

The compelling history of a racially integrated, and now forgotten, community in northern Virginia

Established by two Black entrepreneurs and their families, who provided the economic engine for its initial success, the village of Ilda flourished as a racially integrated community before the Jim Crow era. More than simply a history of a racially and socially pioneering community, this remarkable book tells a broader story, recounting the Black experience in Fairfax County over generations and shedding new light on the racial, economic, political, and bureaucratic factors that drove the development of Northern Virginia and the nation as a whole. Weaving together accounts of horse thievery, attempted murder, savage beatings, hate crimes, and a long-forgotten cemetery, this gripping and often moving narrative provides a rich and unusually detailed record of the rise, decline, and rediscovery of a crossroads whose secrets and mysteries depict an America that might have been, and might still be.

By: Tom Shoop
Imprint: University of Virginia Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 272g
ISBN: 9780813950860
ISBN 10: 0813950864
Pages: 242
Publication Date: 01 February 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Tom Shoop is a writer and historian and the former editor in chief of GovExec.

Reviews for A Place Called Ilda: Race and Resilience at a Northern Virginia Crossroads

Shoop has written a public history of the perils of living as freedpeople after the Civil War and of African American perseverance in founding communities, as wider Fairfax County upended their institutions, removed their cemeteries, and revoked the land from their descendants. . . upon reading A Place Called Ilda localities should face the crossroads of public memory by following the ultimate example of Fairfax County, as it changed the way it preserves and interprets history to honor the contributions of African Americans.-- ""Journal of Southern History"" (2/1/2025 12:00:00 AM) A Place Called Ilda is one of those books that you might feel compelled to finish in one marathon sitting. Author Tom Shoop weaves together a gripping narrative that brings to life a place from which a host of quintessentially American stories are told. For those of us who live steps from what was once a thriving Reconstruction-era integrated community lost to the forces of Jim Crow, it's a reminder of the fragility and uneven nature of progress. In this poignant tale, Shoop captures the essence of resilience and community, leaving readers with a lasting appreciation for the power of history to shape our present.--Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw