For Sarah

Sally,
I want you to know that I am so proud of you. It is not easy growing up in Monticello as a mixed race woman certainly not with the relationship you have with Master Jefferson. I know you hold a lot of restatement in your heart, but I beg you, please forgive me!
Growing up during my time as a mixed race woman caused anxiety as I was brought into a strange world with even stranger people. I did not fit in with the whites or black slaves, and I struggled to figure out who I truly was. But I did not want the same for you, Sally, my baby girl. I wanted you to have a better life than I had. Look at all the great opportunities you’ve been afforded. A trip to Paris where black people are free! A chance to live and make a life for yourself. You’ve experienced exploration and education, an opportunity you would never have had if it weren’t for me.

All I wanted was for you to be happy. I wanted you to live a life unlike any other. And if you want to be a good mother, you would do the same for your children.You’d have kids with Mater Jefferson, so they could have a prosperous life. Everything I did was for our family So please, do not be angry with me.
Love,

Mom

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