Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello: Paradox of Liberty
FAIN: GI-259366-18
Monticello (Charlottesville, VA 22902-0316)
Emilie Johnson (Project Director: August 2017 to June 2022)
Implementation
of traveling and panel exhibitions exploring the complicated role of slavery in
our national founding and the experiences of enslaved people at Monticello.
Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty is an exhibition that uses Monticello, the home and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, as a lens through which to explore the dilemma of slavery and the lives of the enslaved families and their descendants. Given the relevance and popularity of this landmark exhibition, initially launched in 2012 in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello (TJF) requests funding to update Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello with new content—including a feature on Sally Hemings—and launch a new national tour to four African American museums. TJF also plans a “pop-up” exhibition that will travel to libraries and schools. Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello presents Monticello as a microcosm of the American story—a lens through which to understand the complicated dynamics of our founding, and the ways in which slavery continues to shape our nation.
Associated Products
Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty (updated exhibition) (Exhibition)Title: Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty (updated exhibition)
Curator: Emilie Johnson
Abstract: Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty is an exhibition that uses Monticello, the home and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, as a lens through which to explore the dilemma of slavery and the lives of the enslaved families and their descendants. Thomas Jefferson’s iconic words in the Declaration of Independence—“all men are created equal”—inaugurated a new nation defined by principles of freedom
and self-government, while a fifth of the population remained enslaved. Jefferson called slavery “an abominable crime,” yet he owned 607 people over the course of his lifetime. This exhibition uses the power of place and ideas at Monticello to grapple with the paradox of slavery in an age of liberty. Most notably, Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello brings individuals and families out of the shadows of chattel
slavery, pulling from more than 50 years of archaeology, documentary research, and oral histories to fill in the critical human dimension missing from many resources on slavery in the United States. Through the exhibition, visitors can “meet” members of six families who lived and labored at Monticello, as well as their descendants. Their family stories form a narrative arc from slavery to freedom that reflects the trajectory of the nation at large – our ongoing journey to realize the foundational promise that “all men are created equal.”
Year: 2018
Primary URL:
https://www.monticello.org/slavery-at-monticelloPrimary URL Description: How could the author of the Declaration of the Independence own slaves? How could twenty percent of the population of the new United States, founded on the principles of liberty and equality, live in bondage? What was life like for enslaved people in the early republic? This online exhibition uses Monticello as a lens through which to examine these questions.
Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery (Exhibition)Title: Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery
Curator: Emilie Johnson
Curator: Niya Bates
Abstract: In 11 freestanding panels, Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery examines the experience of slavery at Monticello as well as its painful legacies, among them the burdens of inequality still carried by many people of color in the United States. It has been specifically designed to bring the power of place and ideas at Monticello to schools, libraries, and other community venues across the country and draws heavily from material gathered through the Getting Word Oral History Project, amplifying the voices of descendants of Monticello’s enslaved community.
In addition to the enslaved families of Monticello, including Sally Hemings and her children, the exhibition introduces the Monticello plantation, Jefferson’s attitudes on race and slavery, and stories from the Getting Word Oral History Project – establishing an overall narrative arc from slavery to freedom and the continuing struggle for equity
Year: 2019
Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery project assistant (Staff/Faculty/Fellow Position)Name: Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery project assistant
Abstract: Mary Mason Williams Foukal has been engaged to work on finalizing the content and design of Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery, the 11-panel pop up exhibition supported by the grant. She is also working to secure venues.
Year: 2019
Slavery and Its Impact (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Slavery and Its Impact
Abstract: Gayle Jessup White leads a discussion of slavery and its legacies, using her family's history as a lens through which to view the institution.
Author: Gayle Jessup White
Date: 09/22/2018
Location: Southern Methodist University, Dallas TX
A Dialogue with Descendants of Monticello's Enslaved Community (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: A Dialogue with Descendants of Monticello's Enslaved Community
Abstract: Gayle Jessup White leads a roundtable discussion of descendants of Monticello's enslaved community reflecting on their family histories and how they've learned about their ancestors.
Author: Gayle Jessup White
Date: 01/18/2019
Location: Lincoln High School, Dallas TX
A Dialogue with Descendants of Monticello's Enslaved Community (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: A Dialogue with Descendants of Monticello's Enslaved Community
Abstract: Gayle Jessup White leads a roundtable discussion of descendants of Monticello's enslaved community reflecting on their family histories and how they've learned about their ancestors.
Author: Gayle Jessup White
Date: 01/19/2019
Location: African American Museum, Dallas TX
An Evening with Gayle Jessup (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: An Evening with Gayle Jessup
Abstract: Gayle Jessup White presents an overview of the enslaved people of Monticello, drawing closely on her family's history and traditions.
Author: Gayle Jessup White
Date: 02/04/2019
Location: Charles H. Wright Museum, Detroit MI
Paradox of Liberty: Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello (digital exhibition) (Exhibition)Title: Paradox of Liberty: Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello (digital exhibition)
Curator: Emilie Johnson
Abstract: Who were the enslaved people who lived at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s plantation in Virginia? What were their lives like? How did they strive for the promises laid out in the Declaration of Independence during slavery and beyond it? TJF/Monticello invites you to the online exhibition, Paradox of Liberty: Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello. The exhibition features the enslaved men, women, and children owned by Thomas Jefferson and their stories of resilience, courage, creativity, and resistance through objects, panels, and interviews. 11 descendants of Monticello’s enslaved community and seven educators and public historians contributed updated content for the digital exhibition that provides contemporary perspectives on the lives and experiences of those who came before.
You can move through the digital galleries, click on panels to read the text, zoom into the artifact cases, and click on icons to watch interviews, view films, and follow links to learn more. We thank the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and the National Endowment for the Humanities for their support of the project.
Year: 2021
Primary URL:
https://www.monticello.org/paradox/Paradox of Slavery: A Closer Look (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Paradox of Slavery: A Closer Look
Abstract: Go behind the scenes with Emilie Johnson, Associate Curator at Monticello and Adele Johnson, Executive Director at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, for an exclusive look at Monticello's traveling exhibition, "Paradox of Liberty: Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello.”
Author: Emilie Johnson
Author: Adele Johnson
Author: Gayle Jessup White
Date: 05/21/2020
Location: Online
Primary URL:
https://www.monticello.org/exhibits-events/livestreams-videos-and-podcasts/paradox-of-slavery-a-closer-look/Paradox of Liberty: Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Paradox of Liberty: Slavery at Jefferson's Monticello
Abstract: Paradox of Liberty will share the stories of six enslaved families at Monticello as well as examine the life of Sally Hemings, the enslaved woman who bore Jefferson six children. Our one hour online program will include audience Q&A.
Author: Gayle Jessup White
Author: Emilie Johnson
Author: Chevy Humphrey
Date: 08/26/2020
Location: Online
Primary URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PyAoRmQs3EParadox of Liberty: Digitizing Monticello's Traveling Exhibit (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: Paradox of Liberty: Digitizing Monticello's Traveling Exhibit
Abstract: ince its premiere in 2012, Monticello’s traveling exhibition, “Paradox of Liberty: Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello” has been seen by almost 1.3 million people in seven cities across the country. To reach an even larger audience, our curators have been hard at work creating a digital version of this historic exhibit.
In this live Q&A Monticello Associate Curator Emilie Johnson, Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer Gayle Jessup White, and public historian Lauranett Lee discuss the creation of this digital exhibition and take questions from the audience.
Author: Emilie Johnson
Author: Gayle Jessup White
Author: Lauranett Lee
Date: 02/15/2022
Location: Online
Primary URL:
https://www.monticello.org/exhibits-events/livestreams-videos-and-podcasts/paradox-of-liberty-digitizing-monticello-s-traveling-exhibit/Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery
Author: Leslie Greene Bowman
Abstract: Monticello and the Legacies of Slavery examines the experience of slavery at Monticello as well as its painful legacies, among them the burdens of inequality still carried by many people of color in the United States.
On what was once a working plantation, the paradox of slavery stands in stark relief to the ideals of liberty and equality that Jefferson embedded in the Declaration of Independence
It has been specifically designed to bring the power of place and ideas of Monticello to schools, libraries, and other community venues. Drawing heavily from material gathered through the Getting Word Oral History Project, this exhibit gives voice to descendants of Monticello’s enslaved community and their descendant. In addition to the enslaved families of Monticello, the 11-panel freestanding exhibition introduces the Monticello plantation, Jefferson’s attitudes on race and slavery, and stories from the Getting Word Oral History Project – establishing an overall narrative arc from slavery to freedom.
Date: 11/2/2019
Conference Name: 'The 75th Anniversary of Eric Williams’ Capitalism & Slavery' Conference hosted by the Centre for the Study of International Slavery