Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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Audiobook9 hours
Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy
Written by Gayle Jessup White
Narrated by Karen Chilton
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
A Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings’ family explores America’s racial reckoning through the prism of her ancestors—both the enslaver and the enslaved.
Gayle Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from her father’s family, that they were direct descendants of Thomas Jefferson—lore she firmly believed, though others did not. For four decades the acclaimed journalist and genealogy enthusiast researched her connection to Thomas Jefferson, to confirm its truth once and for all.
After she was named a Jefferson Studies Fellow, Jessup White discovered her family lore was correct. Poring through photos and documents and pursuing DNA evidence, she learned that not only was she a descendant of Jefferson on his father’s side; she was also the great-great-great-granddaughter of Peter Hemings, Sally Hemings’s brother.
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.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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Author
Gayle Jessup White
Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s legendary estate. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. She’s written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello. She is a direct Jefferson descendant, and is also related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticello—the Hemingses and the Hubbards. She lives in Virginia.
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Reviews for Reclamation
Rating: 4.416666666666667 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
6 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent and essential reading for understanding our country’s past. Bravo!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent-I loved it -both the personal history of the author and the wider knowledge and history of the descendants of Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson. Thanks to Gayle Jessup White for writing this wonderful book and for her service to promote equal rights.