Sally Hemings Takes Center Stage.
MONTICELLO, Va. — Sally Hemings takes center stage in Monticello on Saturday when the Thomas Jefferson Foundation opens an exhibit in a space where she is said to have lived for some time. Her story is told through the recollections of her son Madison Hemings, the third of four children she and Thomas Jefferson had who lived to adulthood. His memoir, published in an Ohio newspaper in 1873, gives vital information about the Hemings family genealogy, his mother’s life and the course of his own history.
As part of a major renovation of the plantation’s southern wing, visitors will for the first time see Sally Hemings depicted as a central figure in life on the mountain. It’s significant that the source of information about her will come from the words of an African-American man. Madison Hemings helps us define his mother’s life, and also the life of his famous father.
This is a remarkable turn of events. For centuries, historians denied Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemings. This exhibit has been a long time coming, but better late than never.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/opinion/sally-hemings-monticello-thomas-jefferson.html?