Our Legacy Tours

02/03/2026

Share your memories!!!!

01/20/2026

Join us for a year of storytelling and hard truths!

—Sally Hemings was the mother of several children with Thomas Jefferson. She was also enslaved by him. Mixed-race, legally considered property, her body and her future were never her own under the laws of slavery.

—Enslaved women had no legal right to refuse sexual violence. Their children inherited bo***ge at birth. At just 16 years old, while living in Paris where slavery was illegal, Hemings faced an impossible choice. She negotiated her return to enslavement at Monticello in exchange for what Jefferson called “extraordinary privileges” and a promise: freedom for her unborn children.

—For more than 32 years, Sally Hemings raised four surviving children in slavery, quietly preparing them for lives beyond it. She secured their emancipation. She secured their futures. She never secured her own. Sally Hemings died enslaved.

—Shannon Lanier, the sixth great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, works today as a television reporter in Houston. Growing up as a Black man connected by blood to a founding father forced him to live with a history many Americans were never taught. He later wrote a book confronting that inheritance.

—When photographer Drew Gardner invited Lanier to participate in *The Descendants* project, Lanier hesitated. Would telling this story be mistaken as excusing Jefferson’s actions? Would truth be misread as praise?

—Gardner’s response was simple and direct: if this story is told, more people will finally know Sally Hemings’ name. More people will confront the reality that Jefferson had a Black family—and that it existed within slavery, not romance.

—Gardner hopes the image does what history books often avoided: force conversation. Force discomfort. Force acknowledgement. Not to soften slavery, but to face it fully.

—This story is not about reconciliation without truth. It is about visibility. About refusing silence. About ensuring that Sally Hemings is remembered not as a footnote, but as a woman who endured, negotiated survival, and shaped freedom for her children in a world that denied her humanity.

—History does not change when it is hidden. It changes when it is confronted.
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01/20/2026

Thank you!!

01/19/2026

A wonderful day!
Thank you St. Anne’s School of Annapolis!

01/15/2026

Our Legacy Tours Annapolis!!
Oltannapolis.com

01/14/2026

Dr. Martin Luther King, visited St. Anne School this morning!
The students were EXCEPTIONAL!!!!!!

12/16/2025

11/09/2025

Today we celebrate the 294th birthday of Benjamin Banneker — a brilliant astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, and almanac publisher. 🌟

Banneker’s precise calculations helped survey the boundaries of Washington, D.C., and his acclaimed almanacs shared vital astronomical data and weather predictions. Beyond his scientific achievements, Banneker boldly challenged the injustice of slavery, calling for equality and freedom in his famous correspondence with Thomas Jefferson. Visit our current exhibition, ‘Sacred Spaces’ to view a stunning mixed-media piece by Jabari Jefferson honoring Banneker’s enduring legacy!

At the center, Jefferson depicts Banneker atop a reproduction of Hans Holbein’s iconic Portrait of Henry VIII, reimagining him as a figure of regal authority. This bold juxtaposition elevates Banneker’s legacy while challenging historical narratives, emphasizing his intellectual brilliance and resilience against systemic racial erasure. The title draws on the historical trope of the "Blackamoor," a decorative figure in European art portraying men of sub-Saharan African descent in high-status attire. Additionally, the term “Moor,” historically used by Medieval Christian Europeans to describe Muslim populations from the Middle East and North Africa, connects to Banneker’s purported Moorish lineage and their significant contributions to science, exploration, and cultural advancement.

Surrounding the central figure, the collage incorporates materials such as soil collected from various locations in Maryland and found objects, symbolizing Banneker’s connection to the land as a farmer and his resourcefulness. Embedded imagery—including mathematical equations, celestial maps, and references to Banneker’s almanacs—further highlights his groundbreaking contributions to science and publishing.

Our 'Sacred Spaces' exhibition is on view now through December 2025!

🖼️ Artwork Details
Jabari Jefferson, 'The Legacy of Benjamin BlackAMoore Banneker', 2025. Oil, paper collage, clothes, soil, found objects on canvas (reproduction of Portrait of Henry VIII [1536] by Hans Holbein the Younger); 72 x 72 in.
Photo credit: Micah E. Wood

11/02/2025

https://youtu.be/9OAylsmdm8I

10/31/2025

Maryland Emancipation Day, November 1st!!

08/04/2025

We are indebted to you!