The sixth-great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings poses in similar attire to the US president for photo shoot as he says his life shows Americans have 'more in common than some may think'

The sixth-great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings has shared an image of himself posing alongside the third US president as part of a photo series that he says holds 'a mirror' to America. 

Shannon LaNier was photographed by British photographer Drew Gardner for the Smithsonian Magazine's article, American Descendants. 

LaNier, who is a TV host in Houston, shared the images of him dressed in similar attire as Jefferson on Instagram. 

'The @smithsonianmagazine is helping hold a mirror to #America & reflect how #President #ThomasJefferson not only took part in creating this country but also it's people... black, white, brown, yellow & red!' LaNier wrote.  

Shannon LaNier (right), the sixth-great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson (left) and his slave Sally Hemings has shared an image of himself posing alongside the third US president as part of a photo series that he says holds 'a mirror' to America

'As the 6th great grandson of TJ & #SallyHemings, I'm only 1 example of how #slavery has not only separated the country but also made us more in common & connected than some may think!' he continued. 

While his attire was similar to Jefferson's in the portraits, LaNier chose not to wear a wig. 

'I didn't want to become Jefferson,' LaNier told the Smithsonian Magazine.

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'As the 6th great grandson of TJ & #SallyHemings, I'm only 1 example of how #slavery has not only separated the country but also made us more in common & connected than some may think!' LaNier (pictured) continued 

'My ancestor had his dreams—and now it's up to all of us living in America today to make sure no one is excluded from the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' 

LaNier, who co-authored the book Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family, added: 'He was a brilliant man who preached equality, but he didn’t practice it. He owned people. And now I’m here because of it.'

Sally Hemings was the mother of six of Thomas Jefferson's children while she was enslaved at the Monticello estate. 

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Ellen Wayles Hemings, pictured, (1856-1940) was the granddaughter of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. She married her next door neighbour Andrew Jackson Roberts in 1878

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Harriet Hemings, pictured as a young woman (left) and later in life (right), was the granddaughter of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson

According to her son Madison Hemings, her father was Thomas Jefferson's father-in-law, John Wayles. 

Hemings became Jefferson's property as part of his inheritance from the Wayles estate in 1774 and came with her mother Elizabeth Hemings in 1776. 

Hemings worked as a household servant and was never a free woman, but she was allowed to leave Monticello following Jefferson's death to live with sons Madison and Eston Hemings in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

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Frederick Madison Roberts was the son of Andrew Jackson Roberts and Ellen Wayles Hemings - the grand-daughter of Sally Hemings. He was the first African American elected to the California State Assembly in 1918

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Emma Byrd Young, third left, pictured with her her husband George and their 10 children at some time in 1915, was the great-grand daughter of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson- whose family left Virginia in 1827 and settled in Southern Ohio

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Jacqueline Pettiford and her family, who are descendants of Madison Hemings, Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson's son, standing outside of the Monticello estate in Charlottesville, Virginia

The photo series also included descendants of Frederick Douglass and Elizabeth Cady Stanton posing as their relatives.

Gardner's photo series started about 15 years ago when he began tracking down the descendants of famous Europeans like Napoleon and Oliver Cromwell for the purpose of asking them to pose as their famous relatives. 

He then turned his sights to the US, telling the Smithsonian Magazine: 'For all its travails, America is the most brilliant idea.'