Gayle Jessup White will discuss her debut memoir, "Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy” with journalist Dionne Ford.
Don't miss another of our top author conversations! Audience Q&A to follow. This program is sponsored by the Montclair Public Library Foundation and watchung booksellers; to support Open Book / Open Mind and other library programs, click here to donate.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GAYLE JESSUP WHITE is the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s legendary estate. A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Jessup White started her career at the New York Times. She has written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello. She is a direct Jefferson descendant, and is also related to two well-documented families enslaved at Monticello—the Hemingses and the Hubbards. She lives in Virginia.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A Black descendant who works at Monticello records her remarkable journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, offering a compelling portrait of what it means to be a Black woman in America, to reconcile with the legacy of racism, and to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.
“In a real-life version of ‘Roots,’ Gayle Jessup White’s compelling exploration of her family ties to Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings’ family demonstrates that America’s complex racial history is written in our DNA.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER
DIONNE FORD is the co-editor of the anthology Slavery’s Descendants: Shared Legacies of Race and Reconciliation and the author of the forthcoming memoir "Go Back and Get It," about her own enslaved ancestor. Ford's work has appeared in The New York Times, LitHub, and Ebony among other publications and she is the recipient of a NEA Fellowship in Creative Writing. She is a longtime resident of Montclair and a member of the Open Book / Open Mind advisory board.
Mon, Apr 22 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Tue, Apr 23 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
Wed, Apr 24 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
Thu, Apr 25 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
Fri, Apr 26 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Sat, Apr 27 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Sun, Apr 28 | 1:00PM to 6:00PM |
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Email: reference@montclairlibrary.org