CHP was proud to represent The Montpelier Descendants Committee in their successful efforts to fully implement “structural parity” at Montpelier. In February 2018, The Montpelier Foundation convened a National Summit on Teaching Slavery, and co-published 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 (the Rubric). Among the Rubric’s most important standards is that organizations interpreting the history of enslavement implement “structural parity” in the organization; meaning that the descendants of those who were enslaved at a particular site be co-equal partners in all aspects of the stewardship of the historic site including, most importantly, in its governing authority.

The Montpelier Descendants Committee was and is a vital component the ground-breaking work at Montpelier to tell the full story of slavery, including its David Rubenstein-funded Mere Distinction of Color exhibit, development of the Rubric, and the award of a $1 million grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia for the memorialization of Montpelier’s enslaved community, received in 2021. However, in the wake of the initial approval of structural parity bylaws by the Montpelier Foundation Board, the Board voted in March 2022 to rescind the power-sharing agreement and fired a series of critical subject matter expert staff who supported structural parity. 

In this representation, CHP implemented negotiation strategy, nonprofit governance advice, political strategy, grasstops and grassroots advocacy, thought leader mobilization, and media management to ensure that the Foundation’s initial backtracking was not the last word. Following extensive national and international media coverage, in May 2022 the Foundation board of directors voted to welcome eleven new members drawn from a list of twenty esteemed nominees advanced by the Montpelier Descendants Committee (MDC). 

This momentous decision brought parity to the governance of President James Madison’s estate. Since that vote, descendants of the hundreds of the persons enslaved by the “Father of the Constitution” and on nearby plantations have shared and continue to share power on Montpelier’s board. Read the MDC’s press release to learn more about this joyful victory.  Over the last several years,, efforts at Montpelier have turned towards rebuilding Montpelier’s staff, reputation, partners, finances, and programs and building on the critical legacy of structural parity.