Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy
Gayle Jessup White
HarperCollins
A Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings’ family explores America’s racial reckoning through the prism of her ancestors—both the enslaver and the enslaved. For four decades White researched her connection to Thomas Jefferson, to confirm its truth once and for all. Poring through photos and documents and pursuing DNA evidence, she learned that not only was she a descendant of Jefferson but also of Peter Hemings, Sally Hemings’s brother. In Reclamation she chronicles her journey to definitively understand her heritage and reclaim it, and offers a compelling portrait of what it means to be a black woman in America, to pursue the American dream, to reconcile the legacy of racism, and to ensure the nation lives up to the ideals advocated by her legendary ancestor.