As we move along, down the path of descendants from James Madison and the African enslaved woman named Mandy, we come to Jim, Mandy’s grandchild who was sold by the Madisons to the deep south in order -most likely- to raise funds to maintain the plantation afloat, or perhaps to pay for Madison’s step son’s gambling debts. The fact remains that Jim was sold away and that his mother Coreen, and grandmother Mandy were left behind at James Madison’s Montpelier to mourn his absence.
The transaction serves as pivotal hinge in a documentary that looks to transcend beyond the unfortunate fate of the enslaved at Montpelier in an attempt to figure out a path to success in the generations to come. Jim could very signal the crossroads between the colonial past and the reshaping of the American demographics.
And if we learned something from the recent DNA test results, is that the rape of black enslaved woman, perpetrated by white landowners and overseers was institutionalized. To learn more, see the included segment from “The Other Madisons” a film by Eduardo Montes-Brdley, a work in progress.
Music: "Decadel" with Gary Green and Calie Garrett, Live at The Paramount in Charlottesville, Va.