History
At the 2002 Annual Meeting of The Monticello Association, the Membership Advisory Committee presented its final report. Among its recommendations was the idea of the Monticello Association taking the lead in forming a new organization called the Families of Jefferson's Monticello. The Association overwhelmingly voted to _not_ support the creation of such an organization.
In 2003, the Hemings Family held a very successful reunion at Monticello. After this reunion, several people, including the late John H. Works, brought up the idea of some type of general gathering along these same lines.
For more information, see The Monticello Association.
Gathering 2007
Organization
Search For Common Ground
Slave Dwelling Project - 2015
Ring the Bell - Williamsburg
Slave Dwelling Project - 2016
Monticello Community Discussion Group
Getting Word 25th Anniversary
Gathering II
Gathering 2007
Over time, serious discussions ensued, an ad hoc group formed and plans were made. This has culminated in the inaugural Gathering in July 2007.
The Monticello Community Gathering 2007 was organized by representatives of descendants of the various families with connections to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello plantation. The committee was made up of:
- Prinny Anderson
- Linda Carr-Kraft
- Diana Redman
- Connye Richardson
- Debbie Truscott
- David Works
There were also many other individuals contributing time and expertise.
The last session of Gathering 2007 was a meeting to determine if there was any interest in further activities. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
Organization
One of the first steps was to officially organize The Monticello Community and seek tax exempt status. This took much longer than anticipated primarily due to the economic downturn which started shortly after Gathering 2007. Over the next several years the original planning committee pushed along finally receiving exempt tax status in September 2012.
Search For Common Ground
November 11, 2010 - On behalf of the Monticello Community, Shay Banks-Young, Julia Westerinen,and David Works were presented with the Common Ground award.
Slave Dwelling Project - 2015
September 2015 -
Joe McGill & Prinny Anderson, Bill Webb, Joan Burton, April Burns, Lisa M. Goodloe,
Ring the Bell - Willamsburg
February 1, 2016 - Prinny Anderson, Shannon LaNier (with daughters Madison & McKenzie, Diana Redman, Jeff Westerinen,and David Works represented the Jefferson family, black and white, to be the first to ring the bell at First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Slave Dwelling Project - 2016
August 29, 2016 -
Joe McGill and Prinny Anderson
Monticello Community Discussion Group
In an attempt to bring together the idea of the Monticello Community and Coming to the Table, a small, informal group was formed in 2016. This was a test to see if these ideas would work in our context. A series of conference calls ensued.
Getting Word 25th Anniversary
A more formal meeting of the Discussion Group occurred at the Jefferson Library at Kenwood in April 2017. Here deeper discussion occured as well as planning alongside the Thomas Jefferson Foundation for their upcoming Getting Word 25th Anniversary in 2018. It was originally planned to have the Monticello Community Discussion Group share for up to 1 1/2 hours at the 2018 event.
Unfortunately, this did not occur, leaving a gap in that event in showing how to move forward.
Gathering II
This was originally planned for 2014 but we faced a number of obstacles, so it was postponed. Many had hoped that Getting Word 25 would serve as a smaller, yet meaningful gathering of some of the participants in previous events. Since that did not occur, it is definitely time to get us all back on track. This will be a continuation of all that has gone on before and take the Monticello Community forward. We'll see if 2019 makes any sense. More info.