Rachel Jamison Webster discovered in 2016 that she is related to Benjamin Banneker, a free Black man who was born in Maryland in 1731 and made a name for himself as a clockmaker and mathematician. Banneker’s achievements included helping to survey the plot of land on which Washington, D.C. was built and publishing a series of almanacs. Webster, who is now an assistant professor of creative writing at Northwestern University, wrote a book of poetry inspired by her connection to Banneker and by her experiences growing up in a racially divided country.