Keith Perry’s Thrilling Novel, ‘War Anthem,’ Drawn From Celebrated Career in D.C. Politics

Keith Perry's Thrilling Novel, 'War Anthem,' Drawn From Celebrated Career in D.C. Politics
Author, lawyer and political veteran, Keith Andrew Perry

Lawyer Keith Andrew Perry’s politically-charged debut novel, War Anthem, is an intoxicating account of the author’s intense love for his hometown, Washington D.C., and how he now mourns it — because like a wayward family member, it is no longer recognizable to him. The book takes readers on an exhilarating expedition over the past century of Washington, D.C., politics at the pinnacle of its “Chocolate City” grandeur – and how that legacy is slowly and painfully being devoured by devastating displacement and the changing political tide barreling ashore and washing away the remaining vestiges of its 20th century greatness.

If the premise resembles what is actually coming to fruition in the District of Columbia, it’s because in some they are the same.


Just listening to Perry will make you want to rip through the pages to find out how a city with such rich black history could dissolve before our eyes, one block and one historic structure at a time. Perry provides a tantalizing peak behind the curtains of D.C. politics through the book’s protagonist Jason Diggs, a lawyer and heir apparent to a powerful black political dynasty. The family’s eroding influence is due to a major paradigm shift born of demographic trends, unforeseen events and the hemorrhaging of black brilliance and wealth from the District.

What I tell people is that it is the story of a fictitious black political dynasty in D.C. that is now confronting gentrification. Through the story you get a lot of D.C. history. I wanted to talk about the things that we are losing as a result of gentrification,” Perry says.


What is being lost — perhaps forever — comprises quite a list, and you can almost see the sorrow wafting up from Perry’s words and settling heavily in the air. “The historic neighborhoods near Howard University, where ironically you had the house of Carter G. Woodson, the father of black history, is still there, but it’s in the midst of an entirely white community,” Perry explains slowly, as if it hurts just to enunciate the loss of such cultural treasures. “I was just driving up the U Street corridor and 13th Street last night, past the home of historic figures from the NAACP and other civil rights leaders. I’m a Kappa, but the Omega house for Washington D.C., that’s been there forever, is now surrounded by white couples with no understanding of what they are surrounding.”

Keith Perry's Thrilling Novel, 'War Anthem,' Drawn From Celebrated Career in D.C. Politics

So when I say lost, I don’t just mean people,” the Morehouse grad continues. “When you lose people, you lose culture. Those are the things that I try to elucidate in the book.”

To write the book, Perry harvests from the fruitful and vivid memories of his distinguished career as an important operative and adviser for the likes of former District mayors Marion Berry and Sharon Pratt Kelly.

Like the author, the main character Diggs is “a reluctant politician and only does it because it’s what is expected of him. But you also realize [gradually] through the course of the book, that it’s too late for him,” Perry said, who also served as chief of staff for Barry and Kwame Brown, and the campaign treasurer for Kelly’s successful mayoral run during his 20-plus years in politics. “I’m using the book to highlight the affects of gentrification. A lot of people think it’s from an economic standpoint … it’s a displacement standpoint — [but it’s also] the brain drain as far as African Americans and the effect that it has there.”

Perry’s character Diggs is a phenom and a juggernaut within local politics and is finally ready to embrace his destiny, or so he thought. When Diggs’ mother succumbs to a terminal illness, a series of events are set in motion that have powerful and dangerous ramifications that could destroy the city as as well as cause Diggs’ career to crash in mid-flight.

When you read the book, you’ll understand fully why Perry titled it War Anthem. “This book is an anthem. An anthem is a patriotic song. I talk about patriotism of a municipal kind — patriotism I have for the city and that my character has for the city. And we are making a statement in this book about what it was to have a city like D.C. and what it’s like to lose it.”

War Anthem is a fictional book whose storyline is parallel to the actual fate of D.C. to such a degree that you would believe that it’s factual account. And, in some ways, it is. terry shropshire

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