Hi
I'm currently writing my undergrad dissertation, which touches on morality and politics in the Early American Republic, and I would appreciate the advice of any historians of slavery, as well as black historians in general. (For context I'm a white guy from Scotland and due to the unfortunate state of diversity in History academia, particularly in Britain, I've never been taught by a Black lecturer.)
In one section I discuss briefly (we're talking a couple paragraphs) the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
Recently there has been a shift towards language such as 'enslaved people/individuals' rather than 'slave'. I obviously support this, particularly in the world of academic history. However, it means I'm unsure how to refer to Hemings in a way that is both appropriate/respectful and that refers to the reality of the legal relationship.
Would something like, for example: "Jefferson had been in a relationship with the enslaved woman Sally Hemings" work, or would "a relationship with his enslaved woman" be more accurate?
I'm also open to suggestions for other terminology to use in place of 'relationship' considering the situation is extremely open to debate in history circles.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
The best, most concise resource I've seen on this topic is this document created by P. Gabrielle Foreman, who is currently working on the book, "Historicizing Slavery: The Art of DisMemory." The document was crowd-sourced among scholars of slavery and offers linguistic and philosophical suggestions and guidance.
One of the points they raise, "Please honor the humanity of the millions of people treated as chattel property by naming enslaved people whenever possible" is a helpful reminder when writing about an enslaved person. It's a reminder that any given enslaved person had relationships with others that went beyond their status in slavery. Stephine Jones-Rogers, author of "They Were Her Property" (a remarkable book) is a great example of what this looks like in practice. In one scenario, she is writing about how an enslaved child was punished by the daughter of the couple that enslaved her. Early in the anecdote, she names everyone involved such that from that point forward, everything that happens to named people. In instances where she didn't have a child's name, Dr. Jones-Rogers refers to a child by their relationship to a named enslaved person (i.e. Mary's daughter.)
In terms of Hemings and Jefferson, my understanding is that the debate is fairly settled. Which isn't to say there's a straight-forward answer, rather that there's overwhelming evidence they did have a relationship. The nature and dynamics of that relationship is complicated and layered. In terms of language to describe it, the best resource is probably the writing of Annette Gordan-Reed. You can also see how we've tried to negotiate the language in answers on Ask Historians.
From /u/Georgy_K_Zhukov: What is the evidence that Thomas Jefferson raped Sally Hemings? or here about the basic human rights of enslaved people.
From me: Where did Thomas Jefferson have sex with his slave(s)?