The Other Madisons, Bettye Kearse
The Other Madisons, Bettye Kearse
3 Rating(s)
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The Other Madisons
The Lost History of a President's Black Family

Author: Bettye Kearse

Narrator: Karen Chilton

Unabridged: 7 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 03/24/2020


Synopsis

In The Other Madisons, Bettye Kearse—a descendant of an enslaved cook
and, according to oral tradition, President James Madison—shares her family
story and explores the issues of legacy, race, and the powerful consequences of
telling the whole truth.

For thousands of years, West African griots (men) and griottes (women) have
recited the stories of their people. Without this tradition Bettye Kearse would not
have known that she is a descendant of President James Madison and his slave, and
half-sister, Coreen. In 1990, Kearse became the eighth-generation griotte for her
family. Its credo—“Always remember, you’re a Madison. You come from African
slaves and a president”—was intended to be a source of pride, but for her it echoed
with abuses of slavery, including rape and incest.

Confronting those abuses, Kearse embarked on a journey of discovery—of her
ancestors, the nation, and herself. She learned that wherever African slaves walked,
recorded history silenced their voices and buried their footsteps: beside a slaveholding
fortress in Ghana, below a federal building in New York City, and under a brick
walkway at James Madison’s Virginia plantation. When Kearse tried to confirm the
information her ancestors had passed down, she encountered obstacles at every turn.

Part personal quest, part testimony, part historical corrective, The Other
Madisons is the saga of an extraordinary American family told by a griotte in search
of the whole story.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Angela M on October 30, 2020

I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but when I was given the opportunity to read this book, I couldn’t help but think how important it would be to read, especially now when our country is facing a reckoning with racism that still exists as reflected in so much that is happening now in this country. T......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on October 28, 2020

For years, Bettye Hearse’s family passed down the family credo, “Always remember- you’re a Madison. You come from African slaves and a president.” Kearse researched her ancestors and the history of slavery in this country. But it wasn’t easy. The story that had been shared with her and passed down th......more

Goodreads review by Kavanand (Reading for Two) on February 29, 2020

The Other Madisons is a fascinating book about a family's secret history. When Bettye Kearse's mother hands over a box containing the family records, she tells Bettye that she is now the family's griotte, a West African tradition that means she is now the keeper of her family's history. Kearse has a......more

Goodreads review by Linda on October 06, 2020

I’m reading a biography of every president. I am frustrated by how the authors gloss over our founding fathers and beyond opened slaves. Even if they acknowledge that they owned slaves and had sex with them, biographers still won’t call it rape. I read this book as a counterbalance and it is excelle......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on November 12, 2020

It is amazing what Kearse knew from family stories about her family history and even more startling what she learned from her research. A terrific alternate history and memoir. I borrowed the book from my public library.......more