I Cannot Tell A Lie: The True Story of George Washington's African American Descendants

THE FIRST PRESIDENTDocumented national history states that the nation's first president had no children. But the oral history of the descendants of this African American family tells a different story.THE CONTROVERSYMany people will believe the story of George Washington fathering a slave son. Others will find it difficult, if not impossible, to believe that Washington had an intimate relationship with a slave named Venus. Their fateful union during the era of antebellum slavery produced a son, West Ford.THE SECRETAs time and space distanced the Ford family from its beginnings at Mount Vernon, each generation continued to walk a precarious line, bearing the weight of their heritage and battling issues of skin color, status, and identity. Linda Allen Bryant, a descendant of West Ford, pens her family's narrative history in I Cannot Tell a Lie. Their genealogy is rich in adventure, love, tragedy, sacrifice and courage-a story that will haunt you long after you turn the last page.

Linda Allen Bryant has spent over twenty years carefully researching her family's genealogy and the surrounding issues. As a result, she has become an expert in early American history and race relations, including the numerous laws, codes, amendments, and critical players of 200 years of the nation's history.

As one of the official chronicler's of the Ford family heritage, Bryant has appeared on numerous news programs, such as the Today Show, the CBS Morning Show, PBS Frontline, The History Channel and MSNBC. Bryant has also been interviewed by numerous print publications.

Linda Allen Bryant's research is ongoing. Her work focuses on preserving the collective heritage of the family patriarch, West Ford, and his descendants.