It was the closest he'd ever been to freedom.

He was being paid, and black folks around him existed freely.

But before long, enslavement would rear its ugly head again, and he'd have to cook

up some creativity to truly get free.

This is two-minute black history, what you didn't learn in school.

The only life James Hemings knew was to be enslaved on the Monticello plantation in Virginia.

But he and his siblings, including Sally Hemings, walked the line between freedom and enslavement

many times.

When his enslaver, Thomas Jefferson, sailed to France in 1784, 19-year-old Hemings joined

him with one mission in mind, to become a top chef.

Little did Hemings know, his entire life would pivot when his cooking skills.

Hemings spent five years living between two worlds.

Technically, he was still enslaved.

But in Paris, then the world's culinary capital, he had mastered French cooking techniques

managed a kitchen as head chef, earned wages, and freely explored Paris.

But Hemings had a greater purpose for it all.

When he returned to Virginia a few years later, Hemings also returned to enslavement.

But he wasn't complacent, and negotiated with Jefferson for his freedom.

In exchange for training his younger brother Peter to replace him in the kitchen, Hemings

freed himself.

Sadly, Hemings died before he was able to earn the freedom of his brother and his family

members.

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