Skip to content

Annual Liberty Bell ceremony includes descendants of Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings

Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, an enslaved women with whom he fathered at least six children, participated in the annual symbolic ringing of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4, 2020.

From left, Lucy Duke Tonacci, a descendant of Richard Henry Lee, and Zechariah Williams and William Douglas Banks II, sons of Rev. W. Douglas Banks, the fifth-generation grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, tap the Liberty Bell during its annual symbolic ringing in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4, 2020.
From left, Lucy Duke Tonacci, a descendant of Richard Henry Lee, and Zechariah Williams and William Douglas Banks II, sons of Rev. W. Douglas Banks, the fifth-generation grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, tap the Liberty Bell during its annual symbolic ringing in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4, 2020.Read moreMIGUEL MARTINEZ / For the Inquirer
    by Miguel Martinez (custom credit)
    Published 
Published