I’ve just finished reading The Hemingses of Monticello, a fascinating look into the lives of the enslaved family so intimately connected with Thomas Jefferson. Annette Gordon-Reed does an excellent job resurrecting the history of an extensive family whose story has been buried for centuries under a version of history that champions the life and legacy of Jefferson while largely ignoring the enslaved people who made the life and legacy possible. She portrays Sally Hemings, as well as her children, siblings, and grandchildren, as the individuals they were, with highly individual interior lives, aggressively debunking the notion–too often supported by...

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