Honoring the Honest Contradictions at James Madison's Montpelier Plantation

Reflections on a visit to "the memorial to James Madison and the enslaved community"

This simple sign, on a side path off the main road leading into James Madison’s family estate, Montpelier, encapsulates the fundamental contradiction that has plagued America since its founding.

Pathway sign at Montpelier, James Madison’s Plantation, near Orange, VA.

As a religion scholar and a descendent of Baptists seven generations back from Georgia an…