Image of Thomas Jefferson alongside Black descendant holds 'a mirror' to America
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 4 years ago • 13 commentsBy: Shamar Walters and Maia Davis
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Shannon LaNier, a ninth-generation descendant of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings, wore the same sort of outfit as his famous ancestor for a Smithsonian Magazine piece, "American Descendants."
But LaNier, who is Black, said in the article in the magazine's July issue that he chose not to wear a wig for his likeness of his great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather.
"I didn't want to become Jefferson," LaNier said. "My ancestor had his dreams — and now it's up to all of us living in America today to make sure no one is excluded from the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
LaNier, a TV host in Houston who co-authored a book about his family, "Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family," also said of the third U.S. president, "He was a brilliant man who preached equality, but he didn't practice it. He owned people. And now I'm here because of it."
The Smithsonian article features pictures by British photographer Drew Gardner who about 15 years ago started tracking down descendants of famous Europeans such as Napoleon and Charles Dickens to see if they would "pose as their famous forebears in portraits he was recreating," the article said.
Then Gardner thought of the U.S.
"For all its travails, America is the most brilliant idea," the photographer is quoted as saying. Gardner "especially wanted to challenge the idea that history is 'white and male,'" the article said.
Other famous Americans featured alongside their descendants in the piece are Frederick Douglass and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
LaNier posted the photos of himself and Jefferson on Instagram, saying the magazine article "is helping hold a mirror" to America,.
The side-by-side images show that Jefferson "not only took part in creating this country but also it's people... black, white, brown, yellow & red!" LaNier wrote.
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.. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.
Fredrick Douglas
So, why has Shannon LaNier chosen to celebrate his legacy of slavery? Why does Shannon LaNier want to be seen as a slave-American?
Not all Black people in the United States are descendants of slaves in the United States. Attempting to make Black-American the equivalent of slave-American would be a dishonest rewriting of the history of the United States. The heritage that Shannon LaNier chooses to celebrate is not shared by all Black people in the United States.
Nothing in your comment is implied in the seed in any way.
In the article Shannon LaNier is saying that he is here today because Thomas Jefferson owned people.
Note that Drew Gardner is not Shannon LaNier. The article is presenting two viewpoints.
He stated the fact that he's here because Jefferson owned people. Stating a fact is not celebrating that fact.
Why yes, YES he did Nerm. Yet he didn't choose 'to celebrate his legacy of slavery' nor is there any indication that he wanted 'to be seen as a slave-American'.
Yet with two viewpoints to choose to from, you chose neither and fabricated one to blather about.
Didn't read the seeded article, did you? Or are you only seeing what you want to see?
Nerm,
I posted this article because I thought it celebrated the American dream. Did you miss this quote?
We have come to a point in history where he can realize what his 9 time great grandfather vision he wrote about in our Declaration. Isn't that a sweet victory?
Yes I did. I also read your comment and called out it's inaccuracy.
Not at all.
Oh and I'm not the one that had to fabricate a non-existant false narrative.
I also note that as with all too many conservatives here on NT, you've devolved from addressing my comments to expressing your negative opinion of ME. Bravo.
As I pointed out, Shannon LaNier is celebrating a romanticized narrative of unfilled promise. But is the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness a promise of equal circumstance and equal outcome?
Is the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness really a promise of equality?
Actually Nerm, you never mentioned that until now. I suppose you're deflecting because you can't support your prior posts.
Your question is irrelevant to this topic but I'll answer it anyway. No.
Again, irrelevant to this topic and NO.
You tell me Nerm. These are the words from Declaration of Independence written by his 9X great grandfather: