COLOPHON
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Monticello, the residence of Thomas Jefferson for almost sixty
years, was also home to a vital African-American community.
These enslaved men and women raised Jefferson's crops,
built his house and his carriages, and cared for his children.
Within the confines of slavery, they forged powerful bonds of family,
passing skills, values, and a rich culture on to their children.
The Getting Word Oral History Project at Monticello locates and
records the oral histories of the descendants of Monticello's enslaved
African-American community. This rich treasurehouse of memories
over seven generations helps to expand our understanding of life at
Monticello two hundred years ago. Oral interviews are supplemented
with research in public records.
Since 1993, Getting Word staff have traveled over 20,000 miles,
interviewing descendants all over the United States, from Alabama to Ohio
and Massachusetts to California. More than ninety people have contributed
to the project by sharing their family histories and photographs.
Please click "contents" to view the Getting Word exhibit, which opened
in the summer of 1997 on the occasion of the Getting Word Gathering,
a weekend event that brought 110 descendants of Monticello's African-American
community back to the mountaintop their ancestors left over 150 years ago.
years, was also home to a vital African-American community.
These enslaved men and women raised Jefferson's crops,
built his house and his carriages, and cared for his children.
Within the confines of slavery, they forged powerful bonds of family,
passing skills, values, and a rich culture on to their children.
The Getting Word Oral History Project at Monticello locates and
records the oral histories of the descendants of Monticello's enslaved
African-American community. This rich treasurehouse of memories
over seven generations helps to expand our understanding of life at
Monticello two hundred years ago. Oral interviews are supplemented
with research in public records.
Since 1993, Getting Word staff have traveled over 20,000 miles,
interviewing descendants all over the United States, from Alabama to Ohio
and Massachusetts to California. More than ninety people have contributed
to the project by sharing their family histories and photographs.
Please click "contents" to view the Getting Word exhibit, which opened
in the summer of 1997 on the occasion of the Getting Word Gathering,
a weekend event that brought 110 descendants of Monticello's African-American
community back to the mountaintop their ancestors left over 150 years ago.