Voices from Past Generations

The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family is two incredible interwoven stories. One story is the author’s ancestors’ journeys and the other is her quest to find them in spite of attitudes and obstacles. Both stories are full of persistence and courage.

This book took ten years of careful research to verify oral history passed down by griots and griottes through nine generations from Africa to the present. This timely story exposes the hypocrisy of our founding fathers and the foundations of systemic racism.

The reader feels the horrific loss of family and community, of everything dear to one’s very existence with the capture of the first slave, Mandy. Her voice is real, written with vivid imagery that takes one to the coast of Africa and the plantation in Virginia. Voices from past generations are woven into the author’s search for her people's history and the values that they held dear.

The author, Bettye Kearse, encounters people who are helpful, denigrating, totally unaware (as in Lagos), intrigued and excited about her work. Bettye, like Alex Haley illuminates the impact of ancestry on identity. The Other Madisons tells the whole truth, the history many have tried to erase. Are you willing to transport yourself into the world of Mandy and her descendants?

The author, Bettye Kearse, took her responsibility as the family Griotte (storyteller) seriously. Her mother passed along this task to her with the charge to write a book. Her incredible years of research that took her to Ghana, Portugal, Virginia and other states made the images and context of her ancestors’ stories real. After a career as a pediatrician, her life purpose shifted to honor the work, courage, and persistence of those whom history had attempted to erase. Her powerful story does just that.

Check out the Author's Website for more information and places to buy this book. https://www.bettyekearse.com