Tickets are now on sale for Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty – a groundbreaking and widely acclaimed exhibition with a powerful message – that is coming to the African American Museum, Dallas in historic Fair Park(3536 Grand Ave. in Dallas) from Sept. 22-Dec. 31, 2018. For details and to purchase tickets, please go to MonticelloinDallas.com (tickets also may be purchased at the Museum). For hours of operation (including during the State Fair of Texas and holidays), see the Tickets section at the end of the news release or visit MonticelloinDallas.com.
Dallas will be the first city to host the updated touring exhibition, which brings to life the story of slavery at Monticello through more than 300 objects, works of art, documents and artifacts unearthed at the storied plantation. The exhibition features new items never seen outside of Monticello, including a special feature on Sally Hemings, one of the most famous African American women in American history. As an enslaved woman at the age of 16, Hemings negotiated with one of the most powerful men in the nation, ensuring she would receive “extraordinary privileges” and achieve freedom for her children. Jefferson fathered at least six children with Hemings, four of whom survived to adulthood.
“America’s history is complex and often contradictory,” said Bishop T.D. Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter’s House of Dallas. “Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty explores how the author of the Declaration of Independence who introduced a fledgling nation to the concept that all men are created equal could own slaves while 20 percent of Americans were also held in chains and designated 3/5 human. How do we view such contradictory posturing through a 21st century lens? I urge people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds to come and discover the other side of American History.”
“The integrity and quality of this exhibition are stellar, and it’s a tremendous privilege for the African American Museum, Dallas to partner with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello,” said Dr. Harry Robinson, Jr., president and CEO of the African American Museum, Dallas. “We are excited to welcome not only visitors – but thousands of schoolchildren – to come learn about this significant period in our country’s history.”
Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty is organized by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello and the African American Museum, Dallas in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and in cooperation with the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and VisitDallas.
“Our sweeping American story, wonderful and woeful as it is, leaves out too many people whose contributions have been ignored or denied. This exhibit returns those forgotten men, women and children to the American narrative, restoring to them not only their place in history, but also their very humanity,” said Gayle Jessup White, Monticello’s community engagement officer and a Hemings family and Jefferson descendant.
The national tour comes on the heels of a major new exhibition unveiled June 16 at Monticello in Charlottesville,
Virginia. In conjunction with national Juneteenth events, Monticello debuted exhibitions and newly restored spaces, including the opening of the South Wing and The Life of Sally Hemings exhibit. This landmark conclusion of a major restoration initiative at Monticello also commemorates 25 years of the Getting Word Oral History Project.
“This exhibition delivers a powerful message, one that has the potential to educate, inspire and promote greater understanding, which is something we now need more than ever,” said Dallas City Councilmember Kevin Felder, who represents District 7 and the Fair Park area. “We’re so very pleased to bring this to the people of Dallas, Texas and the Southwest.”
Exploring the complicated dynamics of America’s founding, how legacies of slavery still shape nation
Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: Paradox of Liberty is an exhibition that uses Monticello, the home and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, to explore the dilemma of slavery and the lives of the enslaved families and their descendants. The exhibitionpresents Monticello as a microcosm of the American story – a lens through which to understand the complicated dynamics of America’s founding, and the ways in which the legacies of slavery continue to shape the nation.
Thomas Jefferson’s iconic words in the Declaration of Independence – “all men are created equal” – inaugurated a new nation defined by principles of freedom and self-government, while a fifth of the population remained enslaved. Jefferson called slavery “an abominable crime,” yet he owned 607 people over the course of his lifetime. Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello brings individuals and families out of the shadows of chattel slavery, pulling from more than 50 years of archaeology, documentary research and oral histories to fill in the critical human dimension missing from many resources on slavery in the United States. Through the exhibition, visitors “meet” members of six families who lived and labored at Monticello, as well as their descendants. Their family stories form a narrative arc from slavery to freedom that reflects the trajectory of the nation at large – an ongoing journey to realize the foundational promise that “all men are created equal.”
“The popular story, however, is usually told from Jefferson’s perspective. The objective of this exhibition is to convey her life through her eyes. We want visitors to understand Sally Hemings as a person through her family roles as a mother, daughter and sister, and, further, to understand her struggle and the struggle of all enslaved people, intellectually and viscerally,” added Jessup White.
African American Museum, Dallas to feature expanded content
Highlights of the touring exhibition include:
- A featured section on Sally Hemings and her children, one of the best-known African American women in American history. Sally Hemings had at least six children fathered by Thomas Jefferson.
- “Picturing Mulberry Row” is a digital recreation of the lost landscape of Mulberry Row, the industrial hub of Jefferson’s plantation that describes how the plantation thoroughfare changed over the course of Jefferson’s lifetime.
- The Getting Word film introduces some of the descendants of Monticello’s enslaved families, shares their perspectives on the role of Monticello in their family histories, and highlights the important contributions their families have made towards shaping America.
- New descendant stories, recorded by Monticello historians through the Getting Word Oral History Project since 2012.
- Slavery at Monticello App: Debuted in 2015, the app makes use of the most recent scholarship on Monticello’s enslaved community and the activities and livelihoods centered on Mulberry Row.
The exhibition began as a partnership between the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello (TJF) and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, in Washington, D.C. before embarking on a successful four-venue tour between 2012 and 2015. Described as “groundbreaking” in the Washington Post, it attracted a wide, diverse audience, estimated at more than 1.2 million visitors in Washington, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.
The previous venues were the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.: Jan. 27, 2012-Oct. 14, 2012; Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, GA: Feb. 1, 2013-July 7, 2013; Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO: Aug. 10, 2013-March 2, 2014; and the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA: April 9, 2014-Jan. 4, 2015.
“Dallas has become a destination that draws visitors across America and the world,” said Phillip Jones, president and CEO of VisitDallas. “This exhibition enhances Dallas’ reputation as a multicultural hub promoting diversity, and VisitDallas is excited to play a role in its success, by marketing it to both North Texans and out-of-town visitors.”
Fox 4 and Fox 4 More are the media partners, and DART is the official transportation sponsor of the exhibition.
TICKETS, KEY INFORMATION AND WEBSITE
The exhibition’s first stop of its national tour will be the African American Museum (3536 Grand Ave. in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas) and will runSept. 22-Dec. 31, 2018. It will continue on tour to three or four additional venues.
TICKETS.Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors (65 and older), $5 for children 4-12, and free for children 3 and under. Also, admission will be free on Thursdays only for seniors 65 and older. African American Museum members are free.
For details and to purchase individual, group and school field-trip tickets, please go to MonticelloinDallas.com. (Tickets also may be purchased at the Museum.)
HOURS.From Sept. 22-27, and Oct. 22-Dec. 31, 2018, the African American Museum will be open Sunday through Friday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. During the State Fair of Texas (Sept. 28-Oct. 21), the Museum will be open daily from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., except for Oct. 6 and Oct. 20, when the Museum will be open from 3-7 p.m. The Museum will be closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
TOURS BY REQUEST.Groups of 10 or more may request docent-led tours of the permanent collection or special exhibitions. Availability varies and arrangements must be made at least three weeks in advance. Call 214-565-9026, ext. 307.
INFORMATION.For tickets and the latest information, go to MonticelloinDallas.com. For additional information about Monticello, go to its companion site at Monticello.org/Slavery-at-Monticello and download the app – Monticello at Mulberry Row – at the App Store or Google Play.