In times of great strife, Americans have often looked to our nation’s founding fathers for guidance. In doing so, we inevitably address the paradoxes they posed. The same Thomas Jefferson who penned the idea that “all men are created equal” in our Declaration of Independence, is the same founder who owned hundreds of slaves through the course of his life. How could this be, and what are the lessons to us today?
The Hauenstein Center, along with partners at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library, welcomed Monticello’s William Barker for a virtual discussion on February 18, 2021. Barker joined Grand Valley State University for a celebration of Presidents' Day and for a conversation that plumbed our difficult past.
Gleaves Whitney, Executive Director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, introduced William Barker. Whitney also moderated the spirited question and answer session as it delved into topics including slavery, emancipation, religious freedom, Jefferson's relationship with John Adams, and how Barker came to be the world's foremost actor-interpreter of Thomas Jefferson.
Watch the Program Here
When
February 18, 2021
Program Supporters
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
About William Barker
Veteran historical actor-interpreter Bill Barker is widely recognized as the nation’s foremost interpreter of Thomas Jefferson. After portraying Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg for the last 26 years, Barker joined the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello in June 2019.
“Portraying Thomas Jefferson – in all his genius and complexity – is a daunting challenge, yet Bill Barker has succeeded where some of Hollywood’s finest have failed,” said Monticello President Leslie Greene Bowman. “Bill’s knowledge, experience, and passion for his subject are unparalleled. We are proud that he will bring Thomas Jefferson home to enliven and deepen the experience of our visitors with Jefferson’s immense contributions to the new nation. He will also assist us in conveying an honest, complicated, and inclusive history of freedom and slavery at Monticello.”
Barker began interpreting Jefferson in 1984—fittingly, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Combining the tools of theater with rigorous historical scholarship, his approach explores Jefferson’s life and times, and how it relates to our world today. Barker has performed as Jefferson around the country and around the world, at sites including the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Palace of Versailles, and more. He has been featured as Jefferson in numerous publications including Time, People, and Southern Living, and has appeared as Jefferson on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN and Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. Biography information courtesy of Monticello.org
