Getting Word
Since 1993, Getting Word has recorded the oral histories of the descendants of Monticello's enslaved community.
The Getting Word African American Oral History Project of Monticello's African American History Department interviews and records the oral histories of the descendants of Monticello's enslaved community. Since 1993, Getting Word staff have traveled more than 40,00 miles—across the United States and as far as Liberia—to interview more than 200 descendants. The stories handed down over eight generations have helped us to better understand life at Monticello two hundred years ago, and to illuminate the lives of the descendants of enslaved people in America.