The Monticello Community
In 2010 Eston's descendant Julie Jefferson Westerinen (whose brother's DNA matched the Jefferson line), and her cousin Shay Banks-Young, a descendant of Madison Hemings, were honored together with their half-cousin David Works, a descendant of Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. They identify as European American, African American and European American, respectively. Works is a member of the Monticello Association, a lineage society for Jefferson-Wayles descendants.
The three received the international "Search for Common Ground" award for "their work to bridge the divide within their family and heal the legacy of slavery." They have been featured on NPR and in other interviews across the country. In the last several years, since meeting, they have become active in talking about race and related issues in public forums. In addition to organizing reunions between the two sides of the Jefferson family, they have created a new organization, the "Monticello Community", to bring together the descendants of all who lived and worked at Monticello.
Ms. Westerinen said she had gained a lot from the DNA news. "Our family is like a sample family that was deeply divided and then came together," she said. "So think of what an example we can set for America."
Read more about this topic: Eston Hemings
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