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Reclamation : Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a descendant's search for her family's lasting legacy / Gayle Jessup White.

Summary:
Chronicling her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, a black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings' family offers a compelling portrait to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.
White had long heard the stories that her father's family were direct descendants of Thomas Jefferson. For four decades she researched her connection to Thomas Jefferson, to confirm its truth once and for all. 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. Here she chronicles her journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it. In doing so White 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. -- adapted from jacket

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780063028654
  • ISBN: 0063028654
  • Physical Description: xix, 266 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), genealogical tables ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2021]

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:
Eastland Gardens -- Deanwood -- Las Vegas: a turning point -- Washington, DC: the Jefferson question -- Howard University -- Roots -- Chicago -- Georgia -- Wedding of the year -- A prayer and a poem -- An ode to the Jessups -- Marriage -- Death always comes in threes -- Richmond -- The dome room -- Eva Taylor -- mysterious as ever -- Paternity test -- RIP, Chocolate City -- "A slave girl named Sally" -- The plot thickens -- The Randolphs -- Cousins -- DNA does not lie -- What's in a name? -- The Robinsons -- Whitewashing history -- A coffee shop chat -- My ancestors' footsteps -- Velma & Ruth -- Charlottesville -- Sally Hemings Robinson -- Homecoming.
Subject: White, Gayle Jessup, 1957- > Family.
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 > Family.
Hemings, Sally > Family.
Jefferson family.
Hemings family.
African American families > Genealogy.
Racially mixed people > United States > Biography.
African Americans > Biography.

Available copies

  • 20 of 20 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 20 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Albright Memorial Library 920 WHITE (Text) 50686016115870 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library 920 WHI (Text) 37268003118361 AHMFL Adult Non-Fiction Available -
Cambria County Library 973.46 W584r (Text) 85131001826792 CACM Non-Fiction Available -
Dillsburg Area Public Library Adults Hemings Biography (Text) 34001001404522 Adult Area Available -
Exeter Community Library WHI (Text) 33249025319926 Biography Available -
Hamburg Public Library WHI (Text) 33249023646239 Biography Available -
Hollidaysburg Area Public Library B WHITE 2021 (Text) 10HOL000477768 Adult Biography Available -
Huntingdon County Library B WHITE (Text) 30298100593080 Biography Available -
Juniata County Library 973.4 WHI (Text) 39640100625217 JUNM Non-Fiction Available -
Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity 973.4 WHI 2021 (Text) 31001101836659 Adult Non Fiction Available -


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