Descendant of Washington's enslaved cook says America's story should include everyone

Source: Scripps News

Posted 4:21 PM, Jul 03, 2026 and last updated 5:33 PM, Jul 03, 2026


For many Americans, the country's 250th birthday is a celebration of history and a chance to tell a fuller story.

"We think about George Washington and the Founding Fathers as an exclusive history, when in fact, it's really an inclusive one. It's one that touches a lot of lives," Brendan Narcia told Scripps News.

Narcia is one of those people. An inaugural member of the League of Enslaved Descendants, he can trace his lineage to George Washington's enslaved community at Mount Vernon. His sixth great-grandmother, Doll, was an enslaved woman who lived and worked on the Virginia plantation.

"Doll had done so much, and her family had done so much in terms of aiding George Washington in the successful running of his estate and allowing him to do the work as the president, the first president of the United States," Narcia said. Doll arrived at George Washington's Mount Vernon in 1759 at the age of 38, Narcia said. She was the matriarch of her family and cooked meals for the Washingtons.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/descendant-of-washingtons-enslaved-cook-says-americas-story-should-include-everyone