In episode four of the Founding Fathers' Legacy Series, Former Washington D.C Mayor Sharon Pratt engages in a deeper dive around Madison’s legacy – in particular how his legacy is complicated by his enslavement of men, women, and children on his plantation.

In 2019, the Montpelier Descendants Committee was established to ensure the narratives of the enslaved at Montpelier are remembered and honored. The Montpelier Descendants Committee is the “nation’s first independent, descendant led organization to be associated with a major historic site.” Until recently, the histories and memories of enslaved peoples have been amazingly excluded from reflection and interpretation at any of the iconic founding father sites, while the question of who gets to tell history has always been – and likely will always be – rife with tensions.

Sharon Pratt speaks with James French, chairman of the Montpelier Foundation Board of Directors and Founding Chairman of the Montpelier Descendants Committee.

For the final episode on James Madison, James French joins Michael Steele and Mayor Pratt at Montpelier for a live event, with Dr. Hasan Jeffries, Dr. Tyson Reeder and Dr. Holly Shulman.