James Madison and his slaves

A row over the management of Montpelier illustrates the racial politics of cultural preservation

Apr 21st 2022

LAST JUNE the foundation that runs Montpelier, the former Virginian slave plantation of James Madison, made a dramatic announcement. It had resolved, by a two-thirds vote of its board, to share management of the property with a group representing the descendants of slaves. The Montpelier Descendants Committee (MDC), a local charity, would be “co-equals in sharing governing power and responsibility for the very site that enslaved their ancestors”, said the foundation’s chairman, Gene Hickok.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “James Madison’s skeletons”