Black Descendants Of Thomas Jefferson Speak Out At Monticello | TODAY 

I remember when Sally Hemmings descendants showed up and was thrown out of a Jefferson celebration. It's a remarkable step forward to see that some of Jefferson's family members have come around to accept the truth about the past.

I did a DNA test and found out that I'm related to the slave master of my 3rd GG. (White mother, Slave) The crazy thing is that we still stay in the same land that we were released from slavery to. My family remained sharecroppers and servants for them up until the 1980s. So much history is yet to be uncovered in America.

As a descendant of Jefferson, and his wife, I too think Jefferson was a hypocrite. I’m glad Monticello has acknowledged his children with Sally Hemmings. It has taken too long.

When she said children made the bricks that slaves used to build this house that hit... We always think of grown men and women but we need to remember that they lived their whole lives as slaves. Babies, toddlers, pre teens, teenagers, and old men if they make it. All were subject to some form of cruelty and the denial of a fulfilling life.🙁

The part I hate the most about slavery is taking children from their mother. That is beyond heartless. That kind of pain broke many. It's just cruel and evil

I think these parts of history are important for this reason. Let’s not erase history and forget the horrific things that have happened, but recognize them, honor the victims, and make sure it does not happen again. Hearing the perspective of the woman who said it was important to see it in person was powerful. There is beauty and pain and both deserve to be learned about

It is sometimes very difficult, or impossible, to put yourself in a long-ago era. I remember learning in the 4th grade about women's suffrage. I could not believe that women did not have the right to vote up until well into the 20th century. It astounded me. A slightly different example would be my 15 year-old niece who cannot imagine that smoking was once permitted in movie theaters, restaurants, almost everywhere. "How could people allow that for all those years and not complain?" she asked.

I got chills when mrs Simmons spoke. “To see beauty and pain”. Wow that was powerful

I am a minority and the past is a significance of where a society has been and how far it has come. Its a reminder to never go back. Without these remembrances as reminders, it gives nothing to society to hold onto as an historical reminder in a positive light to never return.

I am so happy one of the descendants works there to give her perspective.

Wonderful tribute, thank you so much for this history lesson!

America needs to heal. They have never healed from the past horrors that plague them. And until that happens the problems that plague them today will never change.

The USA needs to start acknowledging that slaves built the country. Willingly or not when people have contributed so massively to a country gratitude and appreciation needs to be shown to the enslaved and their descendants. Celebrating their work, sacrifice and accomplishments. This will not negate the suffering and how disgusting slavery is, but show how their black heritage is strength and courage. Hopefully it would help the younger generation to look at what people built dis-spite what they had to endure and inspire them that they can achieve anything.

Thomas Jefferson said "we're all born free" what was between the lines " except you 3/5ths of a human now git back to work slaves". Man The Founders made a terrible compromise on slavery that is still a blight and burden upon this nation.

The part about the bricks had me crying. How awful for those kids.

Maybe if they taught this in schools decades ago, we could’ve been a less racist world. Would’ve been nice.

Jefferson live a double life .

🤎🖤❤️ when this is over I want to visit Monticello with my daughter...So many stories...so many lives

this made me cry so hard

Was just watching the Oprah segment on Sally Hemmings decendants from almost 30 years ago and it's suprising but not that it's still an issue.

Back in 2008 I had the opportunity to visit Monticello. I remember Harry Smith from the A&E television series 'Biography'.

I love brenda's honesty

I am so glad to see these changes beginning in my lifetime.

Wow ! This is very very interesting & also heart felt

Ironically there's no scene of him interacting with Sally being acted out.

The ladies in these videos are hypocrites for not mentioning the REAL reason their ancestors were at Monticello. The reason being because that is what their black ancestors were selling in Africa.

What a beautiful message they have.....this story is very beautiful!!

It is very sad that a lot of people do not want to openly accept the truth about the actual nature of their relationship in how They were actually in love.

“Never did a man achieve more fame in which he did not do “ Wooooo

I BET THE AFRICANS HELD IN CAPTIVITY THERE DID NOT FIND ONE IOTA OF BEAUTY THERE.

All men are created equal except my slaves.

I learned all this in the 70s in elementary School.

We as a country need to realize our atrocities and deal with them so that we can make the United States whole again. As of today we are a divided, racist nation.

Technically but technically he did try to write a condensation about slavery but he remover it from the final part of it for fear of loosing the south’s sympathy during the war so yes and no he could be said as a hypocrite

There are still so many Thomas Jefferson's in the world today.

it's TRUE, Slaves made everything at Monticello & did all the work, built that fancy house, made the bricks by hand like she said. even built the first buildings of T.J's UNIV of VIRGINIA.

5:17 Excuse me. I was watching that

Great video, now do Washington he was from the same fruit basket...

I have a mixed child who passed a caucasoid but she mixed with caucasoid and human. O yes this hurts me because this is 2021.

We must not forget that the Black descendants of Thomas Jefferson have a voice and have used that voice to celebrate the man as well as recognize slavery as a product of the times. I grew up trying to understand the greatness of Jefferson while holding people against their will. After learning about the Jefferson family reunions, I understood forgiveness as opposed to carrying that anger and hate around like the dead weight of a ship's anchor. Who are we to lecture his descendants or call them disgusting, vile names used by ignorant people? It is their business and certainly deserves no judgment from the public.

THINK OF AMERICA AS A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE... THEN TELL ME WHO THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS ARE...IF YOU CAN'T THEN THE MOVIE IS STILL PLAYING.

She mentions 400 years of slavery. Where does this figure come from? The first colonies only date back to the 1620s. The United States only gained its independence in 1783 and the the first states started to free slaves from 1804. That gives you a period of just over 20 years between the Founding Fathers making their statements and getting the control they wanted and starting to put it into action. You can’t look at history through 21st Century lenses. Slavery had gone on around the world for thousands of years and was accepted as a way of life. Consider this; how many of us think that war is good? Now how many of us accept it? How many of us approve of poor labor conditions? How many of us buy cheap clothes which inevitability have been made through the exploitation of labor? Even now we are all hypocrites, it takes a brave person to stand up and say ‘enough’.

Absolutely depressing but fascinating story of American history. I as a Black Australian man of East African Somali descent love the Black American community. I myself have no enslaved and segregated ancestors because they were East African Somali people who were never captured or kidnapped or sold into slavery because they came from a strong empire. I am the proud son of two East African Somali immigrant parents both my father and my mother plus my paternal uncle which they all successfully immigrated to Australia in the mid 1990s escaping the Somali Civil War which devastated the country. My family and I still live there today. I love Australia because it is so peaceful and relaxing here plus I enjoy my life here in this incredible country. If I was a descendant of an amazingly tough enslaved and segregated ancestors who went through so much suffering I would always honour them plus remember them. I would never disgrace or forget what they had to experience the painful torment of racism. My heart goes out to all the oppressed Black people in the past that had go through the African Tribal Warfare, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Chattel Slavery, the Colonial Wars, the Domestic Slave Trade, the American Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan Racial Terror Lynchings, the Race Riots, Convict Leasing, Jim Crow Segregation, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, Redlinings, the Inner City Gang Violence, the War On Drugs, Police Brutality, the Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System, and Private Prison Abuse. In the United States of America today there is still Inner City Gang Violence, Police Brutality, Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System, and Private Prison Abuse so depressing. America needs a huge criminal justice reform, economic reform, gun control reform, immigration reform, police reform, political reform, and prison reform. I send my love plus support all the way from Lakemba, New South Wales, Australia. To all my fellow human brothers and sisters around the world, always remember be genuine & take care of one another.

Thomas Jefferson was like I know what I said but we not doing that now.

Healing has to come the heart , not out hate vengeance. So for 150 years hasn’t brought. Forgiving and put to rest or never be healed.

2:30 she look like a finely aged Alicia Keys, goodness!

I hope I can visit Monticello.

Teach your children well

But then again if it wasn’t for him, we would still be living under monarchy and the divine right of kings.

"... all men are created equal..." Jefferson said those words, wrote those words, but did not live by them. The Constitution was written "to form a more perfect union." Well, this country isn't there yet on either count, not by a long shot. That should be the work of every generation of people in this country, whether we are born here or come here in search of a better life - to leave this country better than we found it.This country's original sins haunt us - the enslavement of fellow human beings, the destruction and extermination of indigenous peoples - and it is right that they should, because we can not forget. We must stare these truths in the face and not flinch. We must remember, and build a better future. We must work to live by the words Jefferson spoke and wrote, but would not live by. We must work to build that more perfect union. No one ever said it would be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.

There’s a problem with the recording.

Jefferson passed laws prohibiting slavery, his slaves were family, he educated them, they had jobs like by today's standards, he saved them from brutal slave traders. and further advocated against slavery. I'm the great granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson I, who is the Grandfather of President Jefferson. Jefferson I owned all of the lands that were inherited. From what I've read on the DNA results are that it proved they are Jeffersons, but it did not prove it was President Jefferson's line, it could be his Brother. Martha Jefferson Goode and Colonel Bennett Goode are my Grandparents. We welcome all cousins in this lineage and so glad that we have them all.

I'm facinated ! I know Jefferson was not an honorable man but knowing that his desendants are around to corroborate the story is such a blessing.

I am a DNA descendant of the Hemings family of Ohio and African American. I totally disagree with Thomas Jefferson beliefs but as a nrw country "we" had to start somewhere so a lot of my hate is retracted. Nonetheless, I'm proud to be a relative of a few Founding Fathers of this great nation!

Y’all is a straight up trip

How does he get an hour on NPR every Tuesday

What I hear in this report, and from the historians that commented, is that AMERICA MATTERS!

Take emotions out of reason and logic. 🙏🏾

Ive never seen a plantation in person and its on my list of places to see

Y’all be aight’!

Slavery is an inescapable part of history and history is the inescapable record of our past. It is wrong to attempt to erase the past when we should be adding newly discovered artifacts and information to help us better understand and relate to our history.

0:11 why are the parents wearing mask all safe and their daughter dont get one lol

Amen

My 5th grade teacher was related to him!

This makes me think of the Great Pyramids, they’re not so great, those pyramids were built by slaves. The Great Wall of China, again built by slaves. Pyramids of South America, slave trade, Parthenon, Roman coliseum, Turkish basilica, Angkor Wat Cambodia, all built by slaves. Between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire, this occurred during the 15th and 19th centuries. Most of the Scotts came to Colonial America through indentured servitude. People often forget about the Irish slave trade as well. Slavery still exists today, in fact Africa just recorded the highest rate of modern-day enslavement in the world. Armed conflict, state-sponsored forced labor, and forced marriages were the main causes behind the estimated 9.2 million Africans who live in servitude without the choice to do so. This all according to the 2018 Global Slavery Index. That’s who we should be fighting for, people who are still enslaved to this very day.

I truly believe that Sally and Thomas were married while in France it wouldn't have been recognized in America I believe that is the origin of the secret room it was their shared bedroom.

I liked 1776 broadway show in 1996 the actor who played thomas jefferson was great. his name is Paul Michael Valley formerly of another world soap opera.

It's easy to Monday morning quarterback on the game you watched while sitting on your couch on Sunday instead of going to Church.

Some symbols and buildings, such as Jefferson's house serve as a realistic reminder of people affected by slavery . The past cannot be undone.

I cannot imagine the horrors and pain these individuals suffered. But people blame me here in 2020. None of my ancestors owned slaves. I never owned a slave. I am not to blame for what happened.

I must visit

Certainly, its clear to see the man was a hypocrite. If he thought slavery was an abomination, he should of freed all his slaves, regardless of 1776. Either that, or he should of wrote, "All white men are created equal." You can't have it both ways.

I always like to think that Jefferson loved Sally; it would take a real cynical understanding of Jefferson who saw her only as a slave tor his sexual urges.

I wish so much love for Sally’s spirit and for her descendants

Some slaveowners were slaves by default. They inherited a home (not all homes were on plantations mind you) and that home came with a slave or slaves. So they owned the home by inheritance, but they didn't own the slaves. So selling or even giving a slave manumussion could never happen.

The story is my family owned slaves in Kentucky . How far back shall we go to try to make it right ? Half of Oklahoma was just declared and Indian reservation and monuments are being removed or destroyed if they have anything to do with the Confederacy ? Im sure the great majority of Confederate soldiers never owned a slave and in their minds were not fighting for slavery ..they were Americans answering the call . Our Vietnam vets did not question the call to duty they just answered the call even though it was an undeclared war as did all of those who have served in the mid east .. Were all the guys in gulf wars criminals because people said it was all about oil money? ..which it was ..they answered the call of their country . I dont have to support the motivation of the war but I do support those who answer the call ..same goes for the Civil War .

YA'LL SHOULD DEMAND CHILD SUPPORT !!!

What we need to better grapple with about human nature and our present, past and future is that every single person has bad and good qualities. Jefferson was not perfect. There are things that should be criticized. But he also advanced our country in a lot of ways, as did many of the founding fathers. It's complex and always will be.

Glad to see people imbracing history, instead of trying to tear down the relics and erase it.

I never knew about Jefferson and Sally Hemings, they're entitled to his everything, a flawed man, and a genius to insist not to sign the constitution unless the Bill Of Rights was included as the first 10 amendments to the constitution. Delude yourself that saints walk among us. As much a founder and creator of this great nation. On balance, flawed but loved his slaves, literally, insisted on a Bill Of Rights, especially the 1st Amendment. Jefferson knew the dichotomy would not stand time, they're comprehensive biographies that explore his inner most thoughts. Jeffersonian ideals still guide us.

Jefferson was one of my favorite presidents

How do we know for sure theyre really his descendants?

what can you say the world was different 350 years ago

Ideas outlast and outshine the men that spoke/wrote them. Jefferson’s ideas still ring true today, and are timelessly American. It’s my opinion that slaves who rebelled and fought (and sometimes killed) for their freedom were doing the most “American” thing they could’ve done. Jefferson helped us come up with what it means to be “American” even if he wasn’t so American in his own actions as a sinful human.

Have you people never heard of historical perspective?!

Without Thomas Jefferson's "all men are created equal", the way to end slavery in the near future wouldn't have happened. He paved the way, he wasn't perfect nor his time. Different times but great people.

Although quite controversial, America has quite an interesting and complex history.

Its History and the USA is so far away from that time, it's now 2020. All lives need to come together under God and with goodwill and make peace with all. Can not do that with violence. Vilonece will be met with violence. We know the history of world wars and the suffering that happens but we have moved on.

I hope that BLM doesn’t try to burn down this part of history because some people really learn from a visual. The reality of all these people who were actual slaves. Could you imagine if they came and burned it down what would that solve?

He meant “all white men are created equal”

What kind of sick man would enslaved his own offspring ?

I am not sure how there can be a debate whether a 43 year old man who owned a 13 or 14 year old slave child was engaged in a consensual relationship or not. I think we would all be better off putting all of our founding fathers on pedestals and instead recognize them as the flawed people they actually were.

Oh my gosh he owned over 600 slaveries what a hurtfully thing to know oh my gosh it is sicken

...I thought Mr. Jefferson was black and lived out on the eastside in a deluxe highrise?

Well he does have living descendants.

There will be no getting past the shameful chapters of our history without fully exhuming and considering them. Our country - as great and cherished as it is to americans of all races - was founded on a duplicity that haunts us to this day ....we have to all accept that in order to move forward in order to allow our founding principles to truly flower...

There is arguably no person more responsible for the ideals of the enlightenment being baked into the founding principal of the United States, such that all [people] are created equal. It was that very principal that became the basis of emancipation. It will be interesting to see how we come to live with the contradiction of the poor and inhumane choices he made in private. Something I think about is that one day in, say, 150 years, today's factory farming could be seen as a gargantuan and wholly unnecessary humanitarian atrocity. The lifelong torture and genocide of tens of millions of sentient, intelligent, emotional beings per year. Think about all the ways our minds might immediately begin to justify participating in something that could be come to be universally seen as extremely terrible. That is how values and norms of current structures can influence our moral framework. Let's condemn the depravity of slavery. Let's tear down all reverence to those who fought for it. But let's judge the moral character of people's actions within the appropriate context of their time and place.

Some are still in denial that the once wonderful, honourable, Thomas Jefferson has black descendants. He was too great and decent a man. 《SARCASM 》

In the end we do not honor the man for the bad. We honor the man for the astounding accomplishments. Trying to downplay the value of a person by their humanity and standards of today is disingenuous. Not to mention we do not have proof it was his and not his relatives.

Slavery is not a proud history of this country but we should have learned by now that America doesn’t/shouldn’t discriminate against any of its people, that makes us who we are and if we can’t accept this ideology are we really the country we think we are?