The Other Madisons

In The Other Madisons,Bettye Kearse–a descendant of a slave named Coreen andaccording to oral traditionPresident James Madison–finally shares her family storyexploring legacyraceand the powerful consequences of telling the whole truth. For thousands of yearsWest 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 Coreen. In 1990when her mother delivered a box of memorabilia–painstakingly collected–Bettye became the eighth-generation griotte for her family. Their credo–\