I wasn't in front of the television when I first heard that promo for the upcoming CBS movie on the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings, so I was expecting to hear about a syrupy love affair dripping with poetic lines and flowery cinematography. Instead, I was smacked in the face, not by "one of the greatest love stories never told, "but by one of the biggest lies ever told. I can only imagine how this program depicts slavery, probably as a (sic) some extended work-release program developed in the South.

Touting Jefferson's relationship with "Sally" as a love affair is a blatant example of America's refusal to face up to its enslavement of Africans, one of the most horrific crimes against humanity since the world began--even beyond the Jewish Holocaust. I've always thought the sentiment among many whites and African-Americans to dismiss the kidnapping, murder, mutilation and exploitation of millions of African people for profit was insane. To propose that the continuous rape of a 14-year-old enslaved girl by Jefferson-a slave owner-as a love affair is ludicrous. Anyone who believes this Jefferson-Hemmings thing was a love affair should be committed.

So, let's get some thing things straight about their involvement, and about slavery as it manifest(ed) itself in America. First of all, although "Sally" was the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, she was Jefferson's property, no different from his plow or his cow or his horse or his buggy housed at Monticello. And just as the horse did not have a choice in saying whether Jefferson could ride it, neither did "Sally." Sex with her owner was not up for discussion, not an option. Second, "Sally" was a child, so wouldn't that make the adult Jefferson a pedophile? Third, even if some morbid form of love was present, on Jefferson's part, his "love" did not move him to set "Sally," or his children by her free.

America's "great" Mr. Jefferson turned a blind eye to the God-given rights he so eloquently penned in the United States Constitution when it came to "Sally" and his children. They were his slaves, "Sally" there to please him sexually, and all of them at Monticello to make his money, period -- no "unalienable rights" to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

(One thing is certain, Bill Clinton can rest easy now, the honor of the presidency was tarnished long before he ever laid hands on a cigar or Monica, moreover, she had a choice and consented.) So, let's stop the lies and tell the history, beginning with Thomas Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemmings as a love affair. Let's call it what it was, the rape of a child by a sitting President who was a pedophile, so I guess that does make him a "founding father."

And now, on to the general issue of slavery in America. It would hoist race relations in this country to a new level if the entire story were told. It is crucial that the story be told that these enslaved Africans, and their descendants were not "dumb, lazy, shiftless," creatures, but human beings whose intelligence, strength and perseverance were so profound, that they remarkably survived America's "peculiar institution," and they continue to survive despite well-calculated attempts to destroy them. It's is incumbent on every person who claims to be an American to know that this country was built with the blood, sweat, skills, and strength of millions of Africans. These people, who until they were stolen from their native land had for centuries lived in thriving communities with established systems of government, highly skilled artisans, spiritual practitioners, intellectuals, academicians while Europeans were still in the Dark Ages.

The story is that for more than 400 years, enslaved Africans and their descendants picked the cotton and tobacco and cut sugar cane that produced the wealth that was the economic engine of this emerging country. They also raised their owners children and gave them culture; invented timesaving machinery like the cotton gin and broad hoe; built homes and furniture; developed life-saving medical techniques and medicines; created art forms and revolutionized animal husbandry. Artisans (sic) who worked in glass, wood, textiles, iron and stone helped to build the South. And for all of this, they never received one dime for their labor. Jefferson and his kind, relegated them to chattel, not worthy of compensation. In his eyes, they were chattel, including "Sally."

African-Americans have endured all that was heaped upon them for more than 400 years. Even now, 30 years after Affirmative Action, many whites-and some black Americans-still make the ridiculous demand that African-Americans should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."

This group says that African-Americans should not expect to receive preferential treatment because of their color. Funny thing is--no one ever posed the same to those in America who have benefited from the privilege of their white skin. The debt owed to African-Americans for their contributions to the success of this country is long overdue.

In his book, The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks, Randall Robinson, president of "TransAfrica" offers a clear and concise path for reparations. It should be required reading for every American. If Americans are courageous enough to learn the full and true history of how this country evolved, it really might have a chance of becoming the glorious ideal that Jefferson envisioned. When the whole truth is told, perhaps someone will tell it in a movie that depicts the horrors "Sally" endured as Jefferson's property, not his "love."

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