Law Professors
Law Prof Wins Pulitzer
Posted Apr 21, 2009, 05:03 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A professor at New York Law School has won a Pulitzer Prize for her book exploring the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings.
Annette Gordon-Reed won in the history category for her book, The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Gordon-Reed’s earlier book, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy, sparked debate by making the case for a relationship between Jefferson and Hemings. After the book was published, DNA evidence showed a genetic link between Jefferson and Hemings’ youngest child.
A story on Gordon-Reed in the New Jersey Star-Ledger also identifies her as a Rutgers history professor. She became interested in Jefferson when she read a biography as a child in East Texas, the story says.
Earlier in her career, Gordon-Reed was an associate at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, according to the New York Law School website.
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