ABOUT THE BOOK_

JEFFERSONS CHILDREN
The Story of One American Family Deeply rooted in our religious heritage is the conviction that every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth.
Man in a Revolutionary World, July 6, 1965. (Palmer House) Archives of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

How do you define who you are; what you know as your history; and whom you call family? On November 1, 1998 a DNA test was proven to link the family of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, with the family of his slave Sally Hemings. But that is not where the story begins, - nor ends.

Jeffersons Children: The Story of One American Family is a

compelling exploration of race and culture in America as told through the narratives of family members, historians, scientists on all sides of a family debate. The story is woven together by the observations of the young Shannon Lanier, a descendant of the Jefferson/Hemings union, and coauthored and beautifully photographed by Jane Feldman. These two authors met at Monticello after an invitation to a family reunion was extended to all of the descendents on the Oprah Winfrey Show. It is edited, without compromise; it presents the raw dialogue of those interviewed so that the reader feels they have been privy to a family discussion. It also marks the first time that you will hear the in-depth and intimate stories of the Jefferson and Hemings families in their own words. The interviews were done over the period of one year, retracing the paths of many descendents and combining oral history, historical documentation and family heirlooms.
It just kind of dawned on me that day, with our family there together, that this was really what Dr. King was speaking of. He had dreamed of a day when this would happen, when the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. Forty years ago, people were dreaming about it and here it was happening in our family. It wasnt anything that I had prepared to say, it was just something that God had kind of showed me in that moment, and when I prayed I was just thankful to participate in that.
Rev. William Douglas Banks