Boss of Black Brooklyn

"Bertram L. Baker could not have had a better biographer than Ron Howell, a gifted journalist and truth seeker. Howell's mesmerizing description of his grandfather's life and career also paints an indispensable portrait an entire borough, city, and nation. Following in the footsteps of another politician from Nevis-Founding Father Alexander Hamilton-Bertram L. Baker was a pioneer whose untold personal and political story is brilliantly depicted by a virtuoso and gifted writer who is well suited to revive him for all of us."-Edwidge Danticat"Crucial reading for anyone interested in the political history of New York, The Boss of Black Brooklyn provides us with a deep understanding of ethnic and racial urban politics of the early and mid-twentieth century. Howell skillfully traces the life of Brooklyn's first black elected official following Bertram Baker's start in politics, to his election to the New York State Assembly, to his appointment as chairman of the State Assembly's Education Committee, Waiting for Stuyvesant. An inspiration for the next generation of black politicians."-Clarence Taylor, Baruch College, The City University of New York "This warm, insightful, and deeply researched study of Bertram Baker, arguably the most important black political leader in Brooklyn's history, reveals how Afro-Caribbeans contributed centrally in the rise of black political influence in New York City. Both a biography of the author's grandfather and an autobiography of growing up as a third generation immigrant in Brooklyn today, Howell makes a brilliant contribution to understanding how our city came to be as it is."-John Mollenkopf, Director, Center for Urban Research, The Graduate Center, CUNY"Bertram Baker was a pioneer we must never forget. His voice still speaks to us from the first decades of black political power in New York City. He was a model in the New York State legislature for many of us who later went on to historic achievements of our own in New York City politics. I followed Bert Baker into the State Legislature, as did Charlie Rangel, who became the most significant black Congressman New York City ever sent to Washington; and as did Percy Sutton, who preceded me as Manhattan Borough President; and as did Basil Paterson, who joined with Bert Baker in the 1960s to make the voices of Harlem and Bedford Stuyvesant residents heard throughout the city. Basil Paterson later became the first black Secretary of the State of New York. We were all youngsters when Bert Baker entered the political arena, and we all stood on his shoulders. I have no doubt that when I became New York City's first black mayor in 1990, Bertram Baker was smiling with satisfaction from heaven. I am certain that Bert Baker is still watching, and we still have much to accomplish."-David N. Dinkins, 106th Mayor, City of New York "Through his powerful rendering of one irascible and determined political boss from first hurrah to last, Ron Howell uncovers the untold history of America's largest black community. It's a deeply researched story of strivers and failures, high hopes and backroom deals, of fighting racism and working the system. But most of all, it's a song of love: for Brooklyn, for its people, and especially for the author's gruff grandfather, his 'Daddy B.'-the Hon. Bertram Baker, 'the Chief.'"-Paul Moses author of An Unlikely Union: The Love-Hate Story of New York's Irish and Italians