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
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