In full support of the Montpelier Descendants Committee; the Montpelier Descendants Committee advisors, Dr. Michael Blakey and Dr. Iris Ford; and in respect for our past work together, we would like to publicly state the following:

  • The Montpelier Foundation recognizes the Montpelier Descendants Committee as the sole representative organization of the Montpelier descendant community, as that community is defined by Engaging Descendant Communities in the Interpretation of Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites: A Rubric of Best Practices Established by the National Summit on Teaching Slavery (V 1.0—10.19.18).
  • Additionally, all of the descendants of the enslaved population of Montpelier deserve the opportunity to speak on their own behalf to The Montpelier Foundation Board without any filter or to the Montpelier Descendants Committee, which serves as a formal collaborative body in the stewardship of Montpelier. 
  • The Montpelier Foundation commits to consultation with the Montpelier Descendants Committee on the course of the archeological project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities prior to the resumption of the activities of the project and ongoing throughout the project.  
  • The Montpelier Foundation and Montpelier Descendants Committee together commit to use Engaging Descendant Communities in the Interpretation of Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites: A Rubric of Best Practices Established by the National Summit on Teaching Slavery (V 1.0—10.19.18) to assess Montpelier’s current state of performance and define future goals related to historical research, partnerships, programming, interpretation, and governance; and to uphold the rubric by working diligently and collaboratively to achieve those goals.
  • The Montpelier Descendants Committee and The Montpelier Foundation are committed to initiating a new, jointly-developed facilitated process to address concerns between the Montpelier Board, the Montpelier Descendants Committee, the Montpelier Descendants Committee Advisors, and the National Trust to structure and ensure longer-term collaboration and engagement.