The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family
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- Create Date：2022-11-05 17:21:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Kerri K. Greenidge
- ISBN：1324090847
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Summary
Sarah and Angelina Grimke—the Grimke sisters—are revered figures in American history， famous for rejecting their privileged lives on a plantation in South Carolina to become firebrand activists in the North。 Their antislavery pamphlets， among the most influential of the antebellum era， are still read today。 Yet retellings of their epic story have long obscured their Black relatives。 In The Grimkes， award-winning historian Kerri Greenidge presents a parallel narrative， indeed a long-overdue corrective， shifting the focus from the white abolitionist sisters to the Black Grimkes and deepening our understanding of the long struggle for racial and gender equality。
That the Grimke sisters had Black relatives in the first place was a consequence of slavery’s most horrific reality。 Sarah and Angelina’s older brother， Henry， was notoriously violent and sadistic， and one of the women he owned， Nancy Weston， bore him three sons: Archibald， Francis， and John。 While Greenidge follows the brothers’ trials and exploits in the North， where Archibald and Francis became prominent members of the post–Civil War Black elite， her narrative centers on the Black women of the family， from Weston to Francis’s wife， the brilliant intellectual and reformer Charlotte Forten， to Archibald’s daughter， Angelina Weld Grimke， who channeled the family’s past into pathbreaking modernist literature during the Harlem Renaissance。
In a grand saga that spans the eighteenth century to the twentieth and stretches from Charleston to Philadelphia， Boston， and beyond， Greenidge reclaims the Black Grimkes as complex， often conflicted individuals shadowed by their origins。 Most strikingly， she indicts the white Grimke sisters for their racial paternalism。 They could envision the end of slavery， but they could not imagine Black equality: when their Black nephews did not adhere to the image of the kneeling and eternally grateful slave， they were cruel and relentlessly judgmental—an emblem of the limits of progressive white racial politics。
A landmark biography of the most important multiracial American family of the nineteenth century， The Grimkes suggests that just as the Hemingses and Jeffersons personified the racial myths of the founding generation， the Grimkes embodied the legacy—both traumatic and generative—of those myths， which reverberate to this day。
That the Grimke sisters had Black relatives in the first place was a consequence of slavery’s most horrific reality。 Sarah and Angelina’s older brother， Henry， was notoriously violent and sadistic， and one of the women he owned， Nancy Weston， bore him three sons: Archibald， Francis， and John。 While Greenidge follows the brothers’ trials and exploits in the North， where Archibald and Francis became prominent members of the post–Civil War Black elite， her narrative centers on the Black women of the family， from Weston to Francis’s wife， the brilliant intellectual and reformer Charlotte Forten， to Archibald’s daughter， Angelina Weld Grimke， who channeled the family’s past into pathbreaking modernist literature during the Harlem Renaissance。
In a grand saga that spans the eighteenth century to the twentieth and stretches from Charleston to Philadelphia， Boston， and beyond， Greenidge reclaims the Black Grimkes as complex， often conflicted individuals shadowed by their origins。 Most strikingly， she indicts the white Grimke sisters for their racial paternalism。 They could envision the end of slavery， but they could not imagine Black equality: when their Black nephews did not adhere to the image of the kneeling and eternally grateful slave， they were cruel and relentlessly judgmental—an emblem of the limits of progressive white racial politics。
A landmark biography of the most important multiracial American family of the nineteenth century， The Grimkes suggests that just as the Hemingses and Jeffersons personified the racial myths of the founding generation， the Grimkes embodied the legacy—both traumatic and generative—of those myths， which reverberate to this day。
Reviews
Libby Reidy
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I was familiar with the Grimkes sisters as I had read Sue Monk Kidd's book， The Invention Of Wings。 This book is much more detailed; the history of the two sisters and their descendants。 Much is written about the sisters but very little of their family， especially of their nephews born to a black woman and fathered by the Grimke's brother。 As I read this in a a kindle format， some of the text and the illustrations were not the best。 However， I did finish it and found it very informative。 A must I was familiar with the Grimkes sisters as I had read Sue Monk Kidd's book， The Invention Of Wings。 This book is much more detailed; the history of the two sisters and their descendants。 Much is written about the sisters but very little of their family， especially of their nephews born to a black woman and fathered by the Grimke's brother。 As I read this in a a kindle format， some of the text and the illustrations were not the best。 However， I did finish it and found it very informative。 A must read for those who have an interest in these two women。 。。。more
Akiva
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https://www。nytimes。com/2022/10/29/bo。。。 https://www。nytimes。com/2022/10/29/bo。。。 。。。more
BoxerLover2
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A history of an American family follows both white and black relatives。 I wanted to admire Sarah and Angelina， the white daughters of a Judge in South Carolina。 Yes they were anti-slavery。 But they were still racist。 I wanted to admire Archie and Frank， the sons of Sarah and Angelina's brother Archibald， but they were not exactly nice to people who had darker skin。 Frank， a prominent minister in DC and Archie， a Politian who was appointed consul to the Dominican Republic raised Archie's daughter A history of an American family follows both white and black relatives。 I wanted to admire Sarah and Angelina， the white daughters of a Judge in South Carolina。 Yes they were anti-slavery。 But they were still racist。 I wanted to admire Archie and Frank， the sons of Sarah and Angelina's brother Archibald， but they were not exactly nice to people who had darker skin。 Frank， a prominent minister in DC and Archie， a Politian who was appointed consul to the Dominican Republic raised Archie's daughter Angelina "Nana"。 Nana was a teacher and prolific Black writer/producer。I learned more history that they don't teach in public schools。 And it is not a pretty picture。3 1/2 StarsARC review copy via NetGalley 。。。more
Elle
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A richly detailed book on a family whose Black and white members contributed so much to this American history。 How the lives of the family members--Black and white--are intertwined is fascinating。
Eva
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As the author establishes， there's definitely a narrative of the Grimke sisters in the popular imagination--Sue Monk Kidd wrote an entire novel designed to make white readers， particularly white women， comfortable。 'The Invention of Wings' in 2014 presented a romanticized and sanitized story that highlighted specific parts of Sarah Grimké's relationship with one of the enslaved people that she owned， Handful， a 'gift' given to her on her 11th birthday。 While it is true that Sarah helped Handful As the author establishes， there's definitely a narrative of the Grimke sisters in the popular imagination--Sue Monk Kidd wrote an entire novel designed to make white readers， particularly white women， comfortable。 'The Invention of Wings' in 2014 presented a romanticized and sanitized story that highlighted specific parts of Sarah Grimké's relationship with one of the enslaved people that she owned， Handful， a 'gift' given to her on her 11th birthday。 While it is true that Sarah helped Handful learn how to read and was scared within an inch of her life by her father， warned never again to do something illegal， and Sarah found her ways around this away from her father's watchful eye， the novel is primarily a narrative that focuses on enabling white readers to picture themselves as the heroic， noble white saviour who became an abolitionist and went against her Southern plantation-owning family's roots。 Even though I have read a substantial amount about The Grimke sisters， Sarah and Angelina， some of the materials have been confusing， or not comprehensive enough。 This book changes that。 For those who don't know the story， the Grimke sisters were white women who owned enslaved people of African descent on a plantation in South Carolina。 Resisting their manifest destiny， they left this life behind and became abolitionists in the North。 However， as the cover copy of this book indicates， not much has been written about their Black relatives; their brother， Henry; and one of the enslaved people he owned， Nancy Weston， with whom he had children， in addition to his white wife， Selinah Sarah Simmons。 Professor Kerri K。 Greenridge， a professor at Tufts University， presents a comprehensive and detailed view of the Grimkes and their family。 There are not enough texts about people from white families who had Black "branches，" as they referred to them， in many cases choosing not to associate for various reasons and not always obvious。 History is more complex than that。 Both Sarah and Angelina Grimke， when they became aware of their nephews of African descent--a product of their white brother Henry's relationship with an enslaved woman that he owned--helped them through schooling， but they also， as the author establishes， tolerated the sadistic abuse that Henry inflicted on them。 On a related note， because so many of the Grimkes， both white and Black， are similarly named， the author usefully has included a guide at the front of the book that breaks down who each person is， and refers to them by distinguishing nicknames to disambiguate them。 The details of the Black Grimkes are lesser known， and the author has provided an illuminating account of their lives， very often overshadowed by their white abolitionist relations。 "The tragedy of the Grimke sisters' lives was the fact that they never acknowledged their complicity in the slave system they so eloquently spoke against，" as the author argues。 Despite their role as abolitionists， the sisters still had an image in their minds of the kneeling and 'eternally grateful' slave。 One of the gaps in scholarship about white abolitionists， and in fictional narratives that depict white people in the South such as the Confederate Vampire is a discussion of why they opposed slavery （cf。 Bill Compton， Jasper from Twilight， and Stefan & Damon Salvatore among others）。 We're always told that they are opposed to it and that they didn't really want to fight in the Civil War， and not for the Confederacy， but they did anyway。 These narratives fundamentally fail to address the specific reasons or upbringing， reasons， or evidence that led to the change of heart in these white characters。 'The Grimkes' seeks to reconcile some of that by providing details of how the sisters Sarah and Angelina came to reject the views of their slaveholding family in South Carolina， and how they eventually converted from their branch of Christianity to becoming Quakers。 Of particular interest is the author's exploration of the Grimke sisters' lives in Philadelphia， particularly in the context of the summer of 1834， then going back to when Charleston was Charles Town in the late 1700s。 The book details how the sister's father， John Faucheraud Grimké， a Justice of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions and lawmaker， came from Huguenot stock who fled France in the 1600s after Protestants came under attack。 His wife to-be， Mary Smith， known as "Polly，" is a crucial figure in the history of transatlantic slavery。 As Stephanie E。 Rogers highlighted in her award-winning landmark text， 'They Were Her Property，' one of the largest gaps and bits of misinformation in the minds of people when they think of transatlantic slavery and how it operated is the assumption that only white men were enslavers and planters。 The reality is so， so much more harsh。 Not only were white women and plantation mistresses some of the absolute cruellest， vilest， and harshest in their treatment of enslaved people who they owned， but also， because of situations like the Grimkes with the white and Black branches， there were all kinds of situations in which a mixed-race son of an enslaver， if born of a free woman of colour， would possibly inherit the plantation property after his father's death， including the enslaved people there。 Polly was a horrendous human being who enjoyed torturing the enslaved people on the plantation of her husband。 It truly is a wonder that any of her children turned out to be nothing like their mother。 One of the other vital components of the book is the brutality and murders of enslaved people of African descent that Sarah and Angelina witnessed， which was one part of what shocked them into their eventual abolitionist views。 Also dealt with are the relationships that the sisters had， including Theodore Dwight Weld， Angelina's eventual husband。 Although Henry acknowledged his mixed-race children through Nancy Weston， he never manumited them。 The book does an excellent job chronicling the Black members of the Grimke family and the harsh contrasts to their lives versus their white kin。 Another important family in this narrative are the Fortens， of whom Charlotte Forten， an African-American woman and educator， would go on to marry Francis James Grimke， one of the nephews of Sarah and Angelina。 The relationships included in this text， the vital explorations of why this matters in a contemporary context， and most of all， the necessary due and highlighted lens of stories that have been suppressed over time all combine to make this an essential text for anyone looking to gain more insights into the entire Grimke family， and race relations in the United States in both the 1800s and 1900s。 Many aspects of this family are still not as widely known or explored as they should be， and this text is an impressive addition to the body of literature about them。 。。。more
Anne Fox
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