Her very personal chronicle of a decades-long search for her family's connection to Jefferson and Monticello began with a thread of a story from an elderly relative who . 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. Why Movieland says you have to be 17 to attend a movie after 7:30 p.m. That history is deeply personal to Gayle Jessup White. He was a flawed human being who made some horrible decisions,sinful decisions. Join us in learning more about White House History right from your own home. . What are some unusual animals that have lived in and around the White House? Did any presidents live elsewhere during their administrations? Skip to main content. from EPUB Zillow Group is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Gayle serves on Virginias Citizens Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion, where she is founding chair of the Descendant Committee. . So that I'm able to work at Monticello, that I'm able to accentuate because I'm a physical presence of who those people who were in prison there were, then it is the greatest privilege and honor of my life to be able to do so. I'm not, but you are. Hemings, Sally Hemings brother. Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years. And she announced that we're descended from Thomas Jefferson. She is not only a direct Jefferson descendant, but is related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticello - the Hemingses and the Hubbards. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. That's sacred ground for me, says Gayle. Her international lineage is principally Nigerian and British. on his fathers side but also the great-great-great-granddaughter of Peter MARTIN: How do you reconcile for yourself those contradictions which live in you? In a real-life version of Roots,GayleJessupWhites compelling exploration of her family ties to Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings family demonstrates that Americas complex racial history is written in our DNA. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Reclamationis a quintessential American story that should be required reading for anyone who doesn't understand the true contributions of African-Americans to this nation and how vital our presence was and remains to the core principles of democracy and freedom." Erin Keever is Senior Producer of WFAE'sCharlotte Talks with Mike Collins. Deputies in Davidson County rushed to help a 69-year-old man they'd found unresponsive in his house following a welfare check. In Reclamation she chronicles her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, and offers a compelling portrait of what it means to be a black woman in America, to pursue the American dream, to reconcile the legacy of racism, and to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor. In her book, The Other Side of Yet, Michelle Hord details the excruciating loss of her beloved seven-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, at the hands of Doctors advise a young mother to abort after they determine her pregnancy is not viable. Her curiosity about how her Black family could be related to Jefferson drove her to study her familys genealogy. It was the result of a lifelong search for the truth about who she was, and Americas third president. Kirkus Reviews, "19 Books We Can't Wait to Curl Up with This Fall!" For four decades, she researched familial connections to Jefferson, ultimately learning that she was not only a descendant of Jefferson on his fathers side but also the great-great-great-granddaughter of Peter Hemings, Sally Hemings brother. "I couldn't put together in my 13-year-old mind how a little Black kid growing up in Washington, D.C. could be related to the third . Journalist Gayle Jessup White and historian Andrew M. Davenport MA17, cousins and descendants of families enslaved by Founding Father and third U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, will present A Report from Monticello: Restoring African American Narratives to Thomas Jeffersons Plantation," in a discussion to be moderated by Professor Philip Eliasoph, PhD, OVF founder and director. What was the breakthrough in public acceptance of the fact that Thomas Jefferson - and now we're finding out that any number of Founding Fathers also had Black families. A Washington, DC native, Gayle and her family moved to Richmond in 2006. She began at the Foundation in 2014 as a Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies fellow, combing through old letters, documents, and records for clues to her familys past. Top Stories, 1073 North Benson Road Because they were extraordinary people, and they need to be heard, and their lives have been forgotten. 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg, PublishedNovember 10, 2021 at 9:00 AM EST. Those of us who are not black can never fully experience the impact of systemic racism. Hardcover Please switch to a supported browser or download one of our Mobile Apps. She is a direct Jefferson descendant, and is also related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticellothe Hemingses and the Hubbards. In the book, she describes their horror upon driving down Monument Avenue and seeing its Confederate statues. It is my heartfelt wish that when people finish this story, they understand better the contribution of our ancestors, our enslaved ancestors and those that followed them their endurance, their strength, their character and their resilience. But Richmonds proximity to Monticello was fortuitous. Get more than a Sunday sermon. Her 30-year career includes pubic relations, news reporting and anchoring, and public speaking. (l-r) Andrew M. Davenport and Gayle Jessup White. So there was no way that I could have pieces to the puzzle such as I did not and pursue it, not to want to put it together. 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. Accuracy and availability may vary. She also hopes that people see themselves and their families in mine. 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. Feb 17, 2022 Gayle Jessup White, center, is a descendant of President Thomas Jefferson and she is also Sally Hemings' great-grandniece four times over. We cant become what we want to be, individually and collectively, if we dont know who we are. She is not only a direct Jefferson descendant, but is related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticello the Hemingses and the Hubbards. GAYLE JESSUP WHITE: I heard it from my oldest sister, who's about 20 years older than I am. She has written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello and currently lives in Virginia. Sponsor: Monticello TOPIC FREQUENCY Doing so, will help contribute to a better Americaand, yes, a better world for all who live in it." 1 ranking in country. White, a Henrico County resident, and the public relations and community engagement officer at Monticello, describes her four-decade effort to reclaim her family heritage in her recently released book, Reclamation., Or as she wrote: It was always my goal to uncover my roots, to understand my familys place in American history, and to restore them to the nations narrative. Gayle Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from . though others did not. Thousands of Images covering the History of the White House, Official White House Ornaments, Books & More. And that's the story I heard my sister share with my dad when I was a 13-year-old girl growing up in Washington, D.C. MICHEL MARTIN, BYLINE: So you had no knowledge of this until she brought it - how did she know about this? This Open VISIONS Forum is generously sponsored by TV Eyes, the Artisan, Moffly Media, Delamar Southport, and Delamar Spa. A graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio, he received a masters degree in American Studies from Fairfield University and is currently pursing his doctorate in U.S. history at Georgetown University. 5:30pm. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Gayle started her career at the New York Times. For years, Gayle would dream of one day finding out if what they said was true. communications at But finding records of enslaved people from the 1700s wouldnt be so easy. And the whole room went into shock, she said. Davenport researched Getting Word while a Robert H. Smith Fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies in July 2017, and recently served as an adjunct professor of African American Art History at Fairfield University. Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jeffersons legendary estate. What are some unusual animals that have lived in and around the White House? Through her account, the author fleshes out many of the genealogical questions concerning Jefferson that have emerged in recent decades." I can't imagine being anyplace else. Plus, two long lost cousins A woman prays to her Hindu gods for healing, but gets no response. 137 Kindle Edition $1499 Customers Also Bought Items By Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. See her moment of surrender, and the miracle of life. community engagement officer, will join us to discuss her book Reclamation, Executive Mansion as well as the stories of the people who lived and worked She was thirteen when her sister shared a bit of family lore regarding the main author of the Declaration of Independencethey were related. 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.. policy or email us at Her 30-year career includes pubic relations, news reporting and anchoring, and public speaking. For decades, she'd been a domestic for a wealthy white family, the McKnews, in Washington, D.C., until she suffered a crippling stroke. About the Author Gayle Jessup White is a third generation Washingtonian whose lineage extends as far back as the indigenous people who inhabited the Chesapeake area before the . And my sister was a little girl when she first heard this from Aunt Peachie. You can cancel at any time. She also serves on the Poplar Forest African American Advisory Group. And Sallie Hemmans Whites great-great-grandmother was the daughter of Peter Hemings, an older brother of Sally Hemings. Jefferson kept copious notes, so that's how we know that. There are times when her honest accounting of her experience has taught us about our blind spots, she said of White. Its important to look at each other and to work through those differences and see ourselves as Americans and recognize the kinship. Gayle Jessup White's multilayered autobiography, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy, is divided into three parts.The first, most directly autobiographical part of Reclamation offers a fascinating look at Black life in a prosperous neighborhood in Washington, D.C., during the 1960s and '70sa neighborhood that has . White proves that her transformative research and discovery is well worth the journey. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. 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Trade PB, Format: BISAC1 : BISAC2 : BISAC3 : DESK & EXAM Gayle Jessup White, descendant of Thomas Jefferson, searches for her family's legacy By Erin Keever Published November 10, 2021 at 9:00 AM EST Listen 49:25 Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021 America. Her journalist husband, Jack White, was teaching at Hampton University, so they landed in Richmond to ease the commute. On the other hand he gave us those soaring words that I amend to say All humans are created equal that have served as inspiration for hundreds of years now, for people to fight for their freedom and liberty, and justice for all. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Digital Audiobook Unabridged Whites story is singular, yet somehow pervasive the most honest of American narratives. And so we had the DNA evidence. JESSUP WHITE: Well, it really is representative of who we are as Americans and how we've at times mistreated each other. Days. And then, of course, these stories were reported back when Jefferson was president back in 1801. Leslie Greene Bowman, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, lauded White and Reclamation during a Nov. 16 book launch event at Monticello. 90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines As she walks the grounds of Monticello, Gayle Jessup White tells the story of those who once lived there - the enslaver, Thomas Jefferson, who enslaved more than 600 people, and the enslaved families he forced to work there. 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.". Please subscribe to keep reading. Can God change your life? Her American roots are in Virginia going back to the Jamestown settlement, and in Maryland. Gayle Jessup White is a third generation Washingtonian whose lineage extends as far back as the indigenous people who inhabited the Chesapeake area before the arrival of Europeans. For Gayle Jessup White, landing the job of Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer at Thomas Jefferson's historic home, Monticello, was more than . She is currently the Foundations public relations & community engagement officer. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. She is also a member the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and serves on the Poplar Forest African American Advisory Group. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Independent Contractor (Newspaper Carrier), Youngkin's Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow resigns, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office ends affiliation with Reelz TV show 'On Patrol: Live', Former Virginia basketball coach Terry Holland dies after battling Alzheimer's. She is the author of the book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendants Search for Her Familys Lasting Legacy. But what I am committed to doing is to raise the visibility of those people who didn't have a voice. She's a native Charlottean. Bakari Sellers, New York Times best-selling author ofMy Vanishing Country, In her quest to discover the truth behind her family's oral legend of its connection to Thomas Jefferson, Gayle Jessup White reveals the truth of our national history: that 'white' and 'black' are inextricably bound by blood and heritage. So you might find information about them on tax records, on wills, but you won't find them in the census record for the most part until 1870.
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