"Bettye Kearse -- a descendant of an enslaved cook and, according to oral tradition, President James Madison -- shares her family story and explores the issues of legacy, race, and the powerful consequences of telling the whole truth."--
For thousands of years, West African griots and griottes have recited the stories of their people. Because of this, Kearse learned she is a descendant of President James Madison and his slave-- and half-sister--...