Because my story is their story, too.. As a young woman in her native Washington gaining an increased awareness of race, being descended from Jefferson became a part of my identity. Join CBN is a global ministry committed to preparing the nations of the world for the coming of Jesus Christ through mass media. But Richmonds proximity to Monticello was fortuitous. Gayle Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from her fathers family, that they were direct descendants of Thomas Jeffersonlore she firmly believed, though others did not. There are times when her honest accounting of her experience has taught us about our blind spots, she said of White. Gayle Jessup White of Henrico County, a descendant of the Jefferson and Hemings families, and the PR and community engagement officer at Monticello, stands on Mulberry Row, the home's main. White has written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello and about her familys ties to Jefferson, his extended family, and the enslaved community. It was four generations of the Jefferson and Hemings families. Booklist, "Jessup White tells a story that will be meaningful to many readers. Its not the same place it was when we moved down here. Bookperk and other HarperCollins services. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Gayle Jessup White about her book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy. Growing up, she had heard that her African American family was somehow descended from Thomas Jefferson, but with limited records and tight-lipped relatives, there was no proof. She has traced her ancestry to Jefferson and two families that were enslaved at his estate, Monticello. With tax cuts unresolved, his session wins included movement on workforce development and his losses included the 15-week abortion bill. Copyright 2021 NPR. We cant become what we want to be, individually and collectively, if we dont know who we are. From First Lady Dolley Madison's sister Lucy Payne Washington's wedding in 1812 to the nuptials of President Joseph Biden and First A State Dinner honoring a visiting head of government or reigning monarch is one of the grandest and most glamorous On January 20, 1969, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the thirty-seventh president of the United States. An insatiable desire to learn her familys story landed Gayle Jessup White at Monticello, a place she describes as the epicenter of the American paradox.. Zillow, Inc. holds real estate brokerage licenses in multiple states. Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's legendary estate. White House History Live. It was just enough information out there to keep me aware of the possibility. I feel that the ancestors pulled me out of my hometown, my beloved hometown, Washington, D.C., to come to Richmond Virginia, which is just 70 miles from Charlottesville, so that I could become a vehicle for them, so that I could express as well as I possibly could what they were not able to. So were really happy to be here., Having finished this book, she feels whole, gratified and moved by what she called a remarkable journey., The most amazing part for me has been getting the story told. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Although she lives in Richmond, Virginia, she still considers herself a DC girl. A former award-winning TV reporter and anchor, Gayle began her career in journalism at The New York Times, where she interned in the Washington Bureau. She is also a member the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and serves on the Poplar Forest African American Advisory Group. Time: 8 p.m. Gayle says, Im proud of my relatives who were enslaved because they were up against so much. Write this story. . For four decades, she researched familial connections to Gayle Jes. Brokerage. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Gayle started her career at the New York Times. The paradox, of course, is that the Founding Father who lyrically articulated Americas grandest expression of equality enslaved more than 600 human beings on his mountaintop plantation, Monticello. There was a problem saving your notification. Living the Christian life is a journey. In 2014, Gayle was selected for the fellowship program at the international center for Jefferson studies. Gayles son, Charles, lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended school. 5:30pm. And my sister was a little girl when she first heard this from Aunt Peachie. . The other thing that's really become interesting to me is that it wasn't just Jefferson and Sally Hemings that had relations. Facebook and YouTube pages starting at 5:30 pm ET on January 10. Back in 1998, there was a study called The Foster study which proved that the nephews of Jefferson whom the family had claimed had fathered children with Sally Hemings could not have been the father of her children. The man's famil. Trade PB. How do you think about that? 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JESSUP WHITE: Well, it really is representative of who we are as Americans and how we've at times mistreated each other. The conversation focuses on Trumans unexpected ascension to the pr Has the White House ever been renovated or changed? In 1993, the Getting Word oral history project at Jeffersons Monticello plantation began identifying descendants and recording their oral histories. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. One relative is a historical figure in her own right. She was thirteen when her sister shared a bit of family lore regarding the main author of the Declaration of Independencethey were related. This program was held at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Whites narrative is a metaphor for our nations contradictions and secrets some of her family members chose to pass as white. Her international lineage is principally Nigerian and British. Open VISIONS Forum: Gayle Jessup White and Andrew M. Davenport MA'17 A Report from Monticello: Restoring African American Narratives to Thomas Jeffersons Plantation", Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2020 White, Monticellos first public relations and Reclamationis about all of us who may not be descended from a President but who are descended from the same racial /racist history. Accuracy and availability may vary. 01/10/2023. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Gayle Jessup White about her book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. Get more than a Sunday sermon. Gayle Jessup White, a five-times great-granddaughter of Jefferson and four-times great niece to Hemings, Jefferson's slave, will speak during a dinner sponsored by the Mecklenburg Chapter Sons of the American Revolution at the Hilton Charlotte Executive Park Hotel, 5624 Westpark Drive off I-77. Gayle Jessup White is the first public relations and community engagement officer at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello. Send us comments about our Author Pages. The Making of Presidents' and First Ladies' Portraits. That's why I'm here, because of them. The McKnew family put her out and ours took her in. When an ultrasound reveals no movement and barely a heartbeat, they fear for their babys life. "Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.". [Her feats] required superhuman persistence. BookPage. Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's legendary estate. Everyone at the table at the party was discussing their lineage with great pride. As Gayle followed her own leads, DNA research confirmed the long-told rumor that Jefferson had children with an enslaved woman named Sally Hemings. Every family has its secrets and family lore, and often the inheritors of those stories can't separate fact from fiction. For four decades the acclaimed journalist and genealogy enthusiast researched her connection to Thomas Jefferson, to confirm its truth once and for all. Classroom Resource Packet: Slavery, Freedom, and the White HouseJames Madison's Montpelier: Fate in the BalanceThe Enslaved Household of Dr. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, author of "Red, White and Blue on the Runway: The 1968 White House Fashion Show and the Politics Join historian and Pat Nixon biographer Heath Lee and former Nixon White House staffer Barbara Franklin as they discuss the Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. I grew up as a Black American and proud of it. It is my right and the right of every descendant of enslaved people to claim their stake in America.. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Poring through photos and documents and pursuing DNA evidence, she learned that not only was she a descendant of Jefferson on his fathers side; she was also the great-great-great-granddaughter of Peter Hemings, Sally Hemingss brother. 10007, providing information about the products of HarperCollins and its affiliates. And my grandmother was from Charlottesville. Gayle taught journalism at VCU and created training programs for at-risk young adults. This Open VISIONS Forum is generously sponsored by TV Eyes, the Artisan, Moffly Media, Delamar Southport, and Delamar Spa. The backdrop for the early part of Whites story is Black, middle-class Washington. Please switch to a supported browser or download one of our Mobile Apps. Gayle Jessup White began her career at The New York Times and was an award-winning TV reporter before becoming Monticello's first community engagement officer in 2016. 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A combination memoir, genealogy, and history by Gayle Jessup White reads fast as fiction unless you take time to absorb the impact slavery and family secrets have on American families, black or white. . You can cancel at any time. Next That's sacred ground for me, says Gayle. She has been with the show since joining the station in 2006. It ended up being a good fit for us. Gayle Jessup White is a communications consultant, writer, and realtor. Danielle Thompson - 700 Club Producer. We, like many Americans, are sometimes unaware of those blind spots, and like our nation, we need to face them and change., Bowman called the book an important one for Monticello and for our country as we work to tell a more honest and complicated history of our past.. The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and serves on the Poplar Forest African American Advisory Group the possibility providing. Only sent once a day, and in Maryland lives in Cambridge Massachusetts! 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