The Vice President's Black Wife

I appreciate how Myers takes the reader along on her quest to tell this history, one that has been purposefully forgotten. Julia Chinn, an enslaved woman, was essentially the United States Second Lady between 1837 and 1841.

While other enslaved women were forced into relationships with powerful white male politicians, Myers argues Chinn was unique. Her enslaver, Richard Johnson, who served as Martin Van Buren’s Vice President, openly acknowledged her as his wife. Johnson’s frequent absences from home, left Chinn with the responsibility for his plantation, placing her in a position of empowerment. But that privilege only extended as far… show more.