Historical Imperfections

Dear Thomas Jefferson and Nina Simone,

Each of you has earned your place in history—as the third president of the United States and an American music icon, respectively. Your names, etched into monuments and recorded in high school textbooks, will never be forgotten. But what about your darker histories? What about the things that we aren’t taught in school? Mr. Jefferson, you owned slaves and had an ongoing, legally non-consensual relationship with one of them; Ms. Simone, you abused your daughter and exhibited violent and unpredictable behavior throughout your career. What are we to do with these darker sides of your identity? Should they disqualify you as “great” historical figures? Or should they simply be considered alongside your accomplishments? Of course, there are arguments to be made in each of your defense—holding slaves was societally acceptable in your time, Mr. Jefferson, while you, Ms. Simone, were suffering from manic depression and bipolar disorder, in addition to being a victim of abuse yourself. Should these factors excuse your actions? Explain them? Be a lens through which we consider them? Or something else?

Ultimately, I’m not sure. Although I recognize the weight and importance of all that you achieved, it’s hard to separate you from your more problematic actions. There’s not Thomas Jefferson the racist and Thomas Jefferson the founding father; there’s only Thomas Jefferson. There’s not Nina Simone the abuser and Nina Simone the singer; there’s only Nina Simone. Although context is helpful in understanding where your actions were coming from, I hesitate to excuse or justify them. For now, I’ll be content in the knowledge that you were—like anyone else—deeply flawed and thus fully human.

Sincerely,

Annabel Chosy

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