And so I don't work at reconciling who my white ancestors were and who my Black ancestors were. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. But Richmonds proximity to Monticello was fortuitous. 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. And I've found my wholeness., A wholeness she hopes all Americans will soon share. 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 Gayle explains, I'm actually descended from her brother, Peter Hemings, who was a cook at Monticello. Gayle Jessup White is the first public relations and community engagement officer at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello. America has been undergoing a great reconciliation in which the sins of our past are being brought into the light. She has traced her ancestry to Jefferson and two families that were enslaved at his estate, Monticello. Tickets are $20 | Quick Members: $15. So the point here is to acknowledge that these families were entangled. *This is a promotional service of HarperCollins Because my story is their story, too.. Copyright 2023 HarperCollins Publishers. 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. But finding records of enslaved people from the 1700s wouldnt be so easy. will be especially interesting to amateur genealogists. Andrew M. Davenport, a 2008 graduate of Fairfield College Preparatory School is a writer, editor, and teacher. Its not the same place it was when we moved down here. This was happening all over in plantations in the South. We have more in common than not. Send a prayer request now, or call 18007007000. Owning people is sinful. If you have an immediate prayer need, please call our 24-hour prayer line at 800-700-7000. Gayle recounts, Well I was shocked. 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. 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. I just felt the energy and the urgency from our ancestors to tell this story, White said during a recent interview as she headed to Washington for an appearance on CNN. Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University, Tags: Visit Author Central to update your books, profile picture, and biography. Gayles son, Charles, lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended school. Gayle serves on Virginias Citizens Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion, where she is founding chair of the Descendant Committee. Whites relentless pursuit of her family lore led her to a fellowship at the International Center for Jefferson Studies and, ultimately, as Monticellos first community engagement officer. Read full bio Most Popular Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's . It was the result of a lifelong search for the truth about who she was, and Americas third president. For Gayle Jessup White, landing the job of Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer at Thomas Jefferson's historic home, Monticello, was more than . 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. Gayle Jessup White is the first public relations and community engagement officer at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello. In the 90s, when Gayle was out of college and building a career in journalism, she got serious about her search. For generations, historians and the American public alike ignored the stories of descendants of the Founding Fathers enslaved families. She says, We are one people. CBN's ministry is made possible by the support of our CBN Partners. Shes written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello. The other thing that's really become interesting to me is that it wasn't just Jefferson and Sally Hemings that had relations. And that's how Janice (ph) learned of this story. 2023 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. . 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. 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. They were tough. 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. Her American roots are in Virginia going back to the Jamestown settlement, and in Maryland. Yet that wasn't good enough for Gayle Jessup White. Doing so, will help contribute to a better Americaand, yes, a better world for all who live in it." And my sister was a little girl when she first heard this from Aunt Peachie. For four decades, she researched familial connections to Did any presidents live elsewhere during their administrations? This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. . She says, For many years I assumed I was descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Download the free myCBN app. They survived. She was thirteen when her sister shared a bit of family lore regarding the main author of the Declaration of Independencethey were related. 90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines [supadu_silverpop isbn="9780063028678" authorid="52063" referenceid="52063" authorname="Gayle Jessup White" id="5" title="Author tab Form"]. 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. 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.. I'm not, but you are. Gayle Jessup White, thank you so much for joining us. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. For decades, she'd been a domestic for a wealthy white family, the McKnews, in Washington, D.C., until she suffered a crippling stroke. 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Audrey Edwards, author of American Runaway: Black and Free in Paris in the Trump Years, "Thanks to Gayle Jessup White who sometimes feels 'battle scarred after another day spent fighting for equal recognitionof Black Historythat for many is an afterthought.' Every family has its secrets and family lore, and often the inheritors of those stories can't separate fact from fiction. That's my job. She is also a member the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and serves on the Poplar Forest African American Advisory Group. Discover God's peace now. A Washington, DC native, Gayle and her family moved to Richmond in 2006. We are continuously working to improve the accessibility of our web experience for everyone, and we welcome feedback and accommodation requests. Its a story of people who in ways big and small resisted their circumstances, laid a foundation for their families, and contributed to their nation, she said. She also hopes that people see themselves and their families in mine. This Open VISIONS Forum is generously sponsored by TV Eyes, the Artisan, Moffly Media, Delamar Southport, and Delamar Spa. Her journalist husband, Jack White, was teaching at Hampton University, so they landed in Richmond to ease the commute. Write this story. . We are reconsidering how we remember the institution of slavery, and that includes the historical figures from that period. That's sacred ground for me, says Gayle. Gayle Jessup White is a communications consultant, writer, and realtor. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. I can't imagine being anyplace else. Its an American story.. Two people were injured in a crash involving one of the most iconic vehicles in television history, Missouri officials say. Tuesday. You could only hear the silver touching the china. See her moment of surrender, and the miracle of life. She says, I recognize Jefferson now as being a human being. 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