8 Quotes by Annette Gordon-Reed

Contrary to popular belief, there are lots of actions on the part of Jefferson and Hemings that “speak” about the basic nature of their relationship.

I find it more than a little disingenuous to act as if this were something that set Jefferson apart from all mankind.

I am enormously pleased to become a part of the Harvard community once again. I look forward to working with the students and faculty members at the Law School and in the History Department, and to experiencing the rich interdisciplinary environment at the Radcliffe Institute.

I do believe that actions often speak louder than words.

White supremacy does not demand deep conviction. Ruthless self-interest, not sincere belief, is the signature feature of the doctrine. It finds its greatest expression, and most devastating effect, in the determination to state, live by, and act on the basis of ideas one knows are untrue when doing so will yield important benefits and privileges that one does not care to relinquish.

Laws are sometimes put on the books not for purposes of strict enforcement but as statements about the community’s values.

Inventing the rules of slavery, in 1662, Virginians decided to adopt the Roman rule partus sequitur ventrem, which says that you were what your mother was. 14.

Even white males who owned no slaves could contribute to the problem by producing, with enslaved black women, children who would be born free, thus destroying a critical component of the master’s property right: the ability to capture the value of the “increase” when female slaves gave birth.