Join Monument Lab, for the launch of Declaration House, a new book edited by Anna Arabindan-Kesson, Paul M. Farber, and Yolanda Wisher featuring essays, interviews, poetry, and photography reflecting on Sonya Clark’s monumental artwork “The Descendants of Monticello” in Independence National Historical Park.

The new book centers Robert Hemmings, the enslaved valet who accompanied Thomas Jefferson to Philadelphia in 1776 during the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Declaration House and the artwork that inspired it, Clark’s “The Descendants of Monticello,” honored his living descendants and the hundreds of people enslaved at Monticello whose stories remain central to the founding of this country.

The evening will be hosted by Monument Lab Senior Curator and Declaration House co-editor Yolanda Wisher, and feature a conversation between Monument Lab Director and co-editor Paul Farber and contributor Gayle Jessup White, author of Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy. White serves as Public Relations and Community Engagement Officer at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates Monticello, and is a leading voice on the legacies of slavery, family history, and American memory.

Books and merchandise will be available for purchase in the Monument Lab pop-up space. Inspired by Sonya Clark’s work, guests are invited to create a button featuring the eye of a Philadelphia “founding figure.” Light refreshments will be provided.