’12 Years a Slave’: Portraits of Solomon Northup’s Descendants

Cheryl Nelson

67, day care, foster care and adoptive care provider, 2nd great-granddaughter

STORY: Solomon Northup's Descendants Gather for THR Photo Shoot, Reflect on His Legacy

Melissa Howell

42, arts manager, 3rd great-granddaughter

Cynthia Jackson

63, pharmacy technician, 3rd great-granddaughter

VIDEO: Steve McQueen Surprises Solomon Northup's Descendants During Emotional Photoshoot

Dana Walker

45, home health caregiver, 4th great-granddaughter

VIDEO: Solomon Northup Descendants Say He Was 'Somebody Great'

Eileen Jackson

58, RN case manager, 3rd great-granddaughter

VIDEO: Solomon Northup Descendant Says Watching '12 Years a Slave' 'Felt Like It Was Me'

Evelyn Jackson

64, retired RN, 3rd great-granddaughter

Jamad D. Varner

36, food and beverage vendor, 4th great-grandson

STORY: Solomon Northup's Descendants Gather for THR Photo Shoot, Reflect on His Legacy

Joseph Michael Linzy

46, retired, 3rd great-grandson

Johnal Dumas

17, student, 5th great-grandson

Michael Dumas

19, student, 5th great-grandson

VIDEO: Solomon Northup Descendant Says Watching '12 Years a Slave' 'Felt Like It Was Me'

Michelle Linzy

43, therapist and teacher, 3rd great-granddaughter

VIDEO: Solomon Northup Descendants Say He Was 'Somebody Great'

Milan Linzy

15, student, 4th great-granddaughter

Ronald W. Jackson

61, welder, 3rd great-grandson

STORY: Solomon Northup's Descendants Gather for THR Photo Shoot, Reflect on His Legacy

Stormi Dumas

21, child-care provider, 5th great-granddaughter

Azalea Gilliam

4, 5th great-granddaughter, daughter of Justin Gilliam.

STORY: Solomon Northup's Descendants Gather for THR Photo Shoot, Reflect on His Legacy

Darien Carter

23, 5th great-grandson. The recent college grad has received many queries about Northup’s story and is thankful “people are interested in [my] family’s history.”

VIDEO: Steve McQueen Surprises Solomon Northup's Descendants During Emotional Photoshoot

Jasmine Carter

21, 5th great-granddaughter, banquet chef in Suffolk, Va., daughter of Laura Carter.

Justin Gilliam

28, 4th great-grandson. “What I go through is nothing in comparison to what he had to endure,” said the IT consultant. “We’re able to use his story for our own perseverance.”

Laura Carter

46, 4th great-granddaughter. “I’m proud I came from that bloodline,” says the real estate agent who read Twelve Years a Slave when she was in the military. “I’m glad his story was told.”

VIDEO: Solomon Northup Descendants Say He Was 'Somebody Great'

Leonard Holton Jr.

28, 4th-great grandson. A restaurant manager and sommelier, he works a couple of blocks from where Northup was kidnapped: “I feel that connection to Solomon every day.”

STORY: Solomon Northup's Descendants Gather for THR Photo Shoot, Reflect on His Legacy

Vera Williams

"50-plus," she says on her age, 3rd great-granddaughter. The IT specialist recently retraced the D.C. route of Northup’s kidnapping with cousin Clayton Adams.

STORY: '12 Years a Slave': Solomon Northup's Descendants Gather for THR Photo Shoot, Reflect on His Legacy