Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Contact: Peter Golkin 703-228-3346 (voice) 703-228-4611(TTY)
National Book Award Winner to discuss "The Hemingeses of Monticello"
Annette Gordon-Reed's Central Library appearance part of Black History Month celebration
ARLINGTON, Va. – Author Annette Gordon-Reed will discuss her book “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5 at the Arlington Central Library Auditorium. Her appearance, free and open to the public, is one of several Arlington Public Library events in February for Black History Month.
Gordon-Reed’s book won the 2008 National Book Award for nonfiction. For decades, Gordon-Reed, a law professor at New York Law School and history professor at Rutgers University, has studied the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings. She makes a strong case in “The Hemingses of Monticello” that Jefferson fathered children with Hemings.
The National Book Awards recognize the best of American literature by raising the cultural appreciation of great writing. Gordon-Reed’s appearance is made possible by the generosity of Friends of the Arlington Public Library.
Also during Black History Month, Central Library Auditorium will screen the documentary “‘It’s Just Me…’: The Integration of Arlington Public Schools” at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2. Fifty years ago on that date, four seventh graders began attending the county’s Stratford Junior High School, becoming the first African Americans in the Commonwealth to attend public school with white students.
The Virginia Room at Central Library is featuring a new exhibition of historic documents and photographs that tell the story of the push toward integration in Arlington and the state.
Visit the County Web site for a listing of Black History Month events sponsored by Arlington County.
Arlington, Va., is a world-class residential, business and tourist location that was originally part of the "10 miles square" parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the Nation's Capital. It is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the United States, occupying slightly less than 26 square miles. Arlington maintains a rich variety of stable neighborhoods, quality schools and enlightened land use, and received the Environmental Protection Agency's highest award for "Smart Growth" in 2002. Home to some of the most influential organizations in the world - including the Pentagon - Arlington stands out as one of America's preeminent places to live, visit and do business.