“I’ve been selected to do this story because I love Jefferson,” Edmonds said. “We’re kindred spirits. I feel like we’re really similar.”

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And in founding The J.L. Edmonds Project, her goal is to educate and inspire others by exploring the early black Angeleno life and culture that Jefferson so masterfully captured. Additional programming, exhibitions, and other projects to preserve his legacy are in the works, which will also serve as an opportunity to build a rapport with the great-great-grandfather she never knew.

“The whole run of the Liberator is his thoughts, his ideas,” she said. “What he cares about, how much he loved our people, everything. It’s like I’m getting to know him.”

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The Liberator: Chronicling Black Los Angeles, 1900–1914 is on display at the California African American Museum until Sept. 8.