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Article: Did Thomas Jefferson have a black family?
- Article from:
- Jet
- Article date:
- May 22, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Johnson Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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With the recent release of the new movie, Jefferson in Paris, questions have resurfaced as to whether or not U.S. President Thomas Jefferson had a Black family.
Jefferson was a man of contradictions. Adamant that "all men are created equal" as author of the Declaration of Independence, he was a slavemaster. Jefferson was also an outspoken critic of race-mixing but reportedly had a long affair with one of his slaves that resulted in his fathering six children.
Historians have criticized the movie's portrayal of Jefferson, played by Nick Nolte, in an extended love affair with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings, who is played by Thandie Newton. Their affair ...