Gayle Jessup White, public relations and community engagement officer at Monticello, the historic estate of Thomas Jefferson, kicked off a new speaker series titled “Brick by Brick: Constructing America’s Identities” at Clemson.
Jessup White is a direct descendant of Jefferson and his wife, Martha Wayles Skelton, but she also traces her ancestry to the Hemings and Hubbard families, which were both enslaved families at Monticello. Jessup White has written a book documenting her journey to discover her heritage titled “Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy.”
Jessup White talked about the work she did to discover her ancestry and her family’s link to Thomas Jefferson, something she had heard stories about growing up.
“It took me literally a lifetime — 45 to 50 years — to uncover this connection, and now I have been able to return to my ancestral home as a descendant of the enslaved and the enslaver,” she said.
She said she hopes that her talk will encourage others to discover their own heritage and family history.
“I hope that they are inspired to do their own research, to learn about their own families, to embrace their histories, to know that we all have value and that by learning about their ancestors, they’ll learn so much about themselves,” she said. “I hope that they walk away inspired. I also hope they walk away recognizing that people who have been left out of the American narrative are a part of the American narrative.”
During her visit to campus, Jessup White also toured Woodland Cemetery and learned about the Cemetery Historic Preservation Project. She invited the team working on the project to visit Monticello sometime to see the work being done there and share ideas.
“I encourage everyone to visit Monticello, not just to learn about the past, but to learn about the future,” she said. Jessup White also cited the Getting Word African American Oral History Project as a resource for people to hear stories directly from descendants of people who were enslaved at Monticello.
Jessup White’s talk was the first of the “Brick by Brick” series, which runs through August 6. Hosted by Historic Properties and Annual Giving, the series features authors who focus on expanding America’s story and the role of historic structures.
“Historic Properties is excited to sponsor this five-week book series with Annual Giving to bring these inspiring authors, including Gayle Jessup White, to campus, sparking future collaborations with our University partners,” said Mari Noorai, interim director of historic properties. “We selected this theme because Clemson’s historic properties have a role to play in telling the full and complete history of our communities. Our historic sites are learning laboratories for the University and beyond but also instrumental in telling America’s complex story.”
Upcoming talks in the series:
July 16: F. Evan Nooe, assistant professor of history at the University of South Carolina Lancaster, and author of “Aggression and Sufferings: Settler Violence, Native Resistance, and the Coalescence of the Old South,” speaking at 5:15 p.m. at the Barnes Center, followed by a tour of Fort Hill.
July 23: Joseph McGill Jr., founder of the Slave Dwelling Project and history consultant for Magnolia Plantation, and Herb Frazier, senior projects editor at the Charleston City Paper, authors of “Sleeping with the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footprint of Slavery,” speaking at 5:15 p.m. at the Barnes Center, followed by a tour of Fort Hill.
July 30: Richard Dwight Porcher Jr., field biologist and professor emeritus at The Citadel and author of “The Santee Canal: South Carolina’s First Commercial Highway,” speaking at 5:15 p.m. at the Barnes Center, followed by a tour of Hanover House.
August 6: George W. McDaniel, president of McDaniel Consulting and former executive director of Drayton Hall in Charleston, author of “Drayton Hall Stories: A Place and Its People,” speaking at 5:15 p.m. at the Barnes Center, followed by a tour of Hanover House.
Tickets to the series are $30 per event, or $125 for the entire series. Click here to purchase tickets.