The Getting Word oral history project was begun at Monticello in
1993 to preserve the histories of the African American families
at Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia plantation. Over 100 interviews
with their descendants and additional archival research have
brought remarkable individuals out of the shadows of slavery. We
can now tell the stories of people whose lives and achievements
were all but erased over the last 200 years. "I remember
hearing..." Listen to the “way back” tales of Monticello and the
newer stories of fighting for justice, as descendants bring to
light the lives of their ancestors and the values they passed
down. “This is our family” See how stories about the African
Americans of Monticello—including the largest family, the
Hemingses—reveal the strength of family bonds and importance of
community activism. "He was a Civil War hero" Learn about all
the participants in the Getting Word project and some of their
ancestors from previous centuries: blacksmiths and farmers,
educators and ministers, so