Read full bio Most Popular Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's . . I'm not, but you are. Our Facebook Live series, White House Biographer Jeffrey Frank discusses his new book on Harry Truman. 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg, PublishedNovember 10, 2021 at 9:00 AM EST. JESSUP WHITE: Well the person who told my sister this was a woman in the family called Aunt Peachie (ph). It was four generations of the Jefferson and Hemings families. Send a prayer request now, or call 18007007000. Copyright 2021 NPR. She is the author of the book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendants Search for Her Familys Lasting Legacy. Top Stories, 1073 North Benson Road If we are going to heal as a country then we have to be honest about our complicated history, and it is very complicated and it's very painful. She and her husband, retired Time Magazine columnist Jack White Jr have a blended family of four sons, one daughter, and seven granddaughters. America has been undergoing a great reconciliation in which the sins of our past are being brought into the light. event will be live streamed on the White House Historical Association's Along the way, she learned more about her connections to Jefferson and Hemings through research and DNA testing, with an assist from Lucia Cinder Stanton, the groundbreaking Monticello historian who has published several books on the history of slavery there. It serves at a metaphor not just for my family, Gayle says, but for Black families in America to understand - and for all people to acknowledge - that our ancestors helped build this country. submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email policy. Are you an author? Gayle Jessup White is the author of the upcoming book, "Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy.". I mean, the fact that your ancestors owned and in many ways mistreated horribly some of your other ancestors, and that contradiction lives in you. For 20. They were possessions. She grew up hearing the lore that her family is descended from our countrys third president, Thomas Jefferson. Hemings, Sally Hemings brother. Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's legendary estate. View the profiles of people named Gayle Jessup White. During his time in the White For Teachers "Shes a totally charming and frank memoirist, and I loved her candid, sometimes difficult to read story,"--Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind on the Best December 2021 Books Today Show. Her curiosity about how her Black family could be related to Jefferson drove her to study her familys genealogy. It was reported in the Richmond newspaper that Jefferson had relations with an enslaved woman, Dusky Sally, she was called. (203) 254-4000. 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. This Get to know others seeking Gods guidance and wisdom for life. 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. This doesnt make sense to me. All Daddy said to me was, That's what they say. Zillow (Canada), Inc. holds real estate brokerage licenses in multiple provinces. 442-H New York Standard Operating Procedures New York Fair Housing NoticeTREC: Information about brokerage services, Consumer protection noticeCalifornia DRE #1522444Contact Zillow, Inc. She lives in Virginia. That's sacred ground for me, says Gayle. Did any presidents live elsewhere during their administrations? Aunt Peachie was given to old wives tales, but the one thing that my sister believed that she said repeatedly was that you're descended from Thomas Jefferson, she would say. Oral history matters because for many Black people that's all we have, Gayle explains. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. CBN's ministry is made possible by the support of our CBN Partners. Please subscribe to keep reading. 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. God made it possible for you to know. I work at giving attention to those who never had it. After a 25-year career in communications, Gayle seized the opportunity to pursue her passion, history, beginning as an educator at Richmonds Valentine Museum, and ultimately landing a position at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the non-profit organization that owns and operates Monticello, her ancestral home. Trade PB. 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. community engagement officer, will join us to discuss her book Reclamation, It ended up being a good fit for us. 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. Write this story. . And she decided to challenge the guests at the table with her own lineage. It was in 2016 that Gayle came on-staff at Monticello, educating the public about the legacy the good and the bad of one of Americas Founding Fathers. It started when she was a young girl growing up in 1970s Washington D.C. At the time Jefferson was my favorite president because he'd written the Declaration, and I believed and still believe in the principles put forth in that document, says Gayle. Yet that wasn't good enough for Gayle Jessup White. I found not just the history, but I found my family. Feeling my ancestors, hearing my ancestors, say to me: Gayle, write this story. She is not only a direct Jefferson descendant, but is related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticello the Hemingses and the Hubbards. communications Her new book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, And A Descendant's Search For Her Family's Lasting Legacy," is out now. Jefferson, ultimately learning that she was not only a descendant of Jefferson Get more than a Sunday sermon. Accuracy and availability may vary. What are the dimensions of the White House? any time. 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 In the 90s, when Gayle was out of college and building a career in journalism, she got serious about her search. Gayle Jessup White, thank you so much for joining us. I didn't know her. Our But Richmonds proximity to Monticello was fortuitous. Gayle Jessup White is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jeffersons legendary estate. 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. If you have any questions, please review our privacy Used under license. Reclamationis about all of us who may not be descended from a President but who are descended from the same racial /racist history. We have the documentary evidence because every time Jefferson returned home from being in Washington during his administration as president, Sally Hemings would have a baby nine months later. REQUESTS, https://d2wawpwx3aybf6.cloudfront.net/hc-audio/9780063028685.mp3, privacy The conversation focuses on Trumans unexpected ascension to the pr Has the White House ever been renovated or changed? Tuesday. In her book, Reclamation, Gayle chronicles her journey to find her heritage, and more. Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. They were tough. Owning people is sinful. Gayle taught journalism at VCU and created training programs for at-risk young adults. Thousands of Images covering the History of the White House, Official White House Ornaments, Books & More, White House History Live: Reclamation with Gayle Jessup White. 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. Gayle serves on Virginias Citizens Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion, where she is founding chair of the Descendant Committee. Discover God's peace now. 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.". How had she heard this? 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. JESSUP WHITE: I had some facts before me. Please switch to a supported browser or download one of our Mobile Apps. Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years. That's why I'm here, because of them. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Facebook and YouTube pages starting at 5:30 pm ET on January 10. [Her feats] required superhuman persistence. BookPage. though others did not. GAYLE JESSUP WHITE: I heard it from my oldest sister, who's about 20 years older than I am. 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. . ALBEMARLE Gayle Jessup White spent four decades of her life exploring her connection to Thomas Jefferson, a passion born out of her family's oral history that they were his direct. It is my right and the right of every descendant of enslaved people to claim their stake in America.. This was happening all over in plantations in the South. Share your prayer requests, receive prayer and pray for others! 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.. Days. The trademarks MLS, Multiple Listing Service and the associated logos are owned by CREA and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Discover steps to bring you closer to Christ. She says, I recognize Jefferson now as being a human being. 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. She has been with the show since joining the station in 2006. Jessup White had long heard the stories passed down from her fathers family, She held on to that. Gayle Jessup White Author of "Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy," to be released by HarperCollins November 2021 She is the author of the book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy. There was a problem saving your notification. And the whole room went into shock, she said. 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. 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