by Mildred Europa Taylor, Face2FaceAfrica.com
Shannon LaNier is the sixth great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson, the founding father who authored the Declaration of Independence and served as the third president.
LaNier is also a direct descendant of Sally Hemings, a slave owned by Jefferson through an inheritance from his wife, Martha Jefferson. Never marrying, Hemings bore six children with Jefferson; four lived until they were adults.
Knowing this, LaNier has had complicated feelings about his background. Jefferson owned over 600 slaves but wrote “that all men are created equal” with the right to pursue “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
LaNier said to the Guardian, “I wish he would have done more to free the enslaved people and practise what he actually preached.”
“I know he tried to but he was the most powerful man in the country and he could have done more and he was living a double life so it’s unfortunate.
“Sometimes I appreciate what he’s done for this country and how much of a genius he was,” Lanier went on. “Other times I hate what he did and that he didn’t do more, and the hypocritical aspects, because we could have been so much further along as a society if he would have done what was right instead of what was profitable.”
Growing up, LaNier, who is now an author, public speaker, television personality and social media influencer, was aware of his ancestry.
He told the Guardian that while he often found his well-known ancestor’s name on several streets and schools, including on a monument in the capital, Washington DC, that of his sixth great-grandmother had been ignored.
As time went on, LaNier began to respect her resilience and sense of agency. What made her different from other enslaved women was the fact that she negotiated the emancipation of her children with Jefferson. When the two were in Paris, where she legally earned her freedom, she told Jefferson that she would return to slavery in Virginia only if Jefferson promised to set free their unborn children when they reached the age of 21.
“We know more about Jefferson but we have to give credit to Sally Hemings. It’s because of her that we know who we are today, that she didn’t hide the story from her children, that she was able to negotiate for her kids to have freedom at the age of 21, that she was able to tell her story and make sure we were able to tell our stories.”
LaNier continued: “I commend all those who were enslaved. A lot of people like to think of slavery as only a horrific experience but it was also an experience that proves that we come from a very powerful people, that we were able to survive the most horrible conditions on the planet, that we survived and we thrived and we still are surviving. Slavery is just a moment and life is a journey.”
His comments came as America was preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary on July 4. Many African Americans chose long ago not to observe the day.
LaNier noted: “Some people in the Black community don’t want to celebrate July 4 because they say we have Juneteenth and we weren’t really free then. But it’s just as important to celebrate July 4 because, if we did not, it would make all the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors in vain.
“It’s important that people know how involved people of color were in the founding of this country, that we would not have a 250-year anniversary without people of color slaving and labouring constantly.”
“Who do they think built the White House? Who do they think was helping Jefferson with everything when he was writing the Declaration of Independence? He had people running and controlling his plantation. All these things are part of the foundation of this country and it continues to try to get whitewashed or forgotten,” he added.
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