Consultant Voices

This article was written by Brandon Inabinet and originally published on July 23, 2017.

Already we’ve had conversations with some of the nation’s foremost experts on the history and memory of antebellum America. Ed Ayers (Vanderbilt, Richmond) and Vernon Burton (Furman, U. Illinois, Clemson) were both willing to chat with us by video conference, and give much needed advice about how to proceed. We will be standing on the shoulders of giants!

One of the great joys of this project so far has been speaking with the Furman family, including phone calls to nine of the living descendants. Felicia Furman is one of the descendants not just of Richard and James, but also the daughter of Alester G., who chaired the Board of Trustees in the later 20th century. In many cases, family descendants like her might be completely caught off guard by projects like this. But in this case, Felicia had already done incredible genealogy work and brought knowledge that even the university didn’t have. What’s perhaps even more amazing is that she’s an expert on this process as well–she’s been a leader in “Coming to the Table,” an organization that discusses reconciliation (often over a meal) with linked descendants–African-Americans who are descended from slaves held in bondage by Felicia’s ancestors. Felicia had started with the other side of her family–the Simms (also historically famous, for their literary endeavors)–and produced a documentary of this process. We plan to continue discussions with Felicia and bring her to campus over the coming year.

This article was written by Brandon Inabinet and originally published on July 23, 2017.

One of the great joys of this project so far has been speaking with the Furman family, including phone calls to nine of the living descendants. Felicia Furman is one of the descendants not just of Richard and James, but also the daughter of Alester G., who chaired the Board of Trustees in the later 20th century. In many cases, family descendants like her might be completely caught off guard by projects like this. But in this case, Felicia had already done incredible genealogy work and brought knowledge that even the university didn’t have. What’s perhaps even more amazing is that she’s an expert on this process as well–she’s been a leader in “Coming to the Table,” an organization that discusses reconciliation (often over a meal) with linked descendants–African-Americans who are descended from slaves held in bondage by Felicia’s ancestors. Felicia had started with the other side of her family–the Simms (also historically famous, for their literary endeavors)–and produced a documentary of this process. We plan to continue discussions with Felicia and bring her to campus over the coming year.

Update: We hosted Felicia to campus with great student response and discussion. Felicia wrote, “As a descendant of James C. Furman, I am pleased to support the efforts by the University to document and acknowledge its connection to slavery and to move forward to help transform entrenched biases and beliefs. In memory of my father, Alester G. Furman III, who would have enthusiastically supported this mission.”