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Ancestral echoes and modern voicess: The family story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings
Duck, A. W. S. (2001). Ancestral echoes and modern voices: The family story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. (Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2001). UMI No. 3029755
For over 200 years, Jefferson's black and white relatives and their descendants lived separate existences. The interweavings of the larger family were consciously and unconsciously suppressed within and between each side of the family. This silence and separation contained many wounds. This dissertation explored the soul wounding that has occurred.
A phenomenological and heuristic research design was utilized to explore the experience of racial separation among the descendants of Jefferson. What wounds, mythologies, and images still influence their lives? What silences were used to deny that relationship? How can descendants facilitate the recovery from such wounds and create healthy relationships? What insights can depth psychology contribute to the understanding and healing of this woundedness?
These questions were addressed by exploring the lived experiences of a sample of 14 self-identified Jefferson's descendants. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with descendants from both the Martha Jefferson and the Sally Hernings, family lines. This researcher's own experience further complemented that understanding.
The interview process consisted of two separate dialogues. Both utilized a semi-structured format to allow for the mutual exchange of family history and information. Participants were encouraged to ask any questions they had of this researcher.
The participants' experiences portrayed a family legacy of silence, denial, disconnection, and fear that continues to the present day. Images of a void, a lost family, and the forgotten ancestors emerged from the histories of silence. A family paradigm of exclusion acted as an unhealed wound that continues to create barriers between individuals. Many believed that candid dialogue among family members was essential to nurture a new paradigm of inclusion and to facilitate healing. Additionally, a public voice and rituals of remembrance could facilitate the healing of those wounds that separate and alienate this family.
The Jefferson family's story also reflects the legacy of racism in America. The family is engaged in personal and collective struggles regarding their history of slavery, their self-acknowledgement to one another, and their respective systems of power. All these issues too remain embedded in the psyche of our country.
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