Exhibit: Atlanta show examines slavery in Monticello ATLANTA -
With all of the talk these days of liberty and citizenship, of
who is a patriot and who is not, the new exhibit at the Atlanta
History Center is something to consider. "Slavery at Jefferson's
Monticello: How the Word Is Passed Down" opens provocatively. A
life-size bronze of the nation's third president commands
attention as a viewer enters the gallery. Behind the statue,
rising above it, is a semicircular wall of names, beginning with
"Abby" and ending with "Name Unknown." The series of first
names, which number more than 600, are those of the enslaved
people Jefferson owned in his lifetime. Depending upon which
historian you consult, the author of the Declaration of
Independence freed only nine or 11 of them. And most of that
small group were granted their freedom only through the
execution of Jefferson's last will and testament. So a viewer is
faced with this: Here is someone who helped define the notion of
American liberty and who thought it s