mother emanuel AME church
charleston, south carolina
2019
marion square
charleston, south carolina
2019
A statue of John C. Calhoun stands tall in this public square.
Calhoun was a congressman, the secretary of war, the seventh vice president (1825–32) , a senator, and the secretary of state of the United States. He asserted that slavery, rather than being a "necessary evil," was a "positive good," benefiting both slaves and slaveowners.
charleston, south carolina
2019
These side porches with front doors were a common architectural feature of houses throughout Charleston.
penn center
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
Penn Center was founded in 1862 – about six months before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, and about three years before the Civil War ended.
It was one of several schools established on Saint Helena Island as part of the Port Royal Experiment. The leaders of this experiment were primarily philanthropists, abolitionists, and missionaries from Pennsylvania. They came to the Beaufort area after Union soldiers took control of the Port Royal Sound. Their focus was to help recently freed enslaved South Carolinians prepare for freedom by teaching them literacy and ways to survive economically. They named the school in honor of their home state, which had been named for Quaker activist William Penn.
penn center
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
penn center
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
penn center
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
Gantt Cottage
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed in this cottage during retreats to Penn Center where he planned the March on Washington in 1963 and composed many of his speeches including “I Have a Dream”.
Penn Center was one of the few safe spaces where groups could organize during the segregated south.
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
This roadway lined with live oak trees once was the entrance to a plantation.
We learned that one can tell the wealth of a plantation by the number of “slave dwellings”. For about half a mile before reaching the main house, this road was once lined with dwellings of enslaved africans on both sides of the road.
praise house
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
Praise Houses were small one room places of worship that were built to introduce enslaved people to Christianity. However, these small rooms became places were enslaved people could safely organize, build community, and eventually evolved into spaces where local disputes could be negotiated.
marshview community organic farm
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
Marshview Community Organic Farm's Mission is to “establish a culture of increased consumption of locally grown produce and to expand the varieties of vegetables grown in the area” in addition to teaching local youth how to grow and prepare food.
huntington beach state park
south carolina
2019
st. helena island, south carolina
2019
This painting highlights some of the northern destinations many South Carolinian African Americans moved to during segregation and the “Great Migration” when close to six million people moved from the rural south to the northeast, midwest, and west between 1916 and 1970.
st.helena island, south carolina
2019
blue bottle tree
north charleston, south carolina
2019
The tradition of the Blue Bottle Tree is thought to have originated around 6th century AD - a practice brought to the Americas with enslaved Africans.
By hanging glass bottles in a tree, evil spirits would find their way into the bottles and become stuck. They would remain in the bottle until morning and the morning sun would then destroy the spirits. This shade of blue is said to represent water, which spirits cannot pass over, and is considered soothing and healing.
north charleston, south carolina
2019
charleston, south carolina
2019
french quarter
charleston, south carolina
2019
old slave mart
charleston, south carolina
2019
Fingerprints left in bricks from enslaved children, who were part of the brick production process.
savannah, georgia
2019
savannah, georgia
2019
savannah, georgia
2019
savannah, georgia
2019
savannah, georgia
2019
Bricks formerly used as grave markers for enslaved Africans - now used as part of the street.
underground tours
savannah, georgia
2019
Using research from the City of Savannah’s Municipal Slaves Archives, Georgia Historical Society and the Federal Writers Project, Underground Tours is filling gaps in the historical record with tours that intertwine stories, songs, and reenactments.
Even though Savannah was the 2nd port of entry for enslaved Africans in the US, there is limited signage acknowledging this history .
savannah, georgia
2019
Reminders of black enslaved labor are located throughout the city.
long trip st. helena island, charleston, & savannah
2019
We met with local educators, public historians, and activists in Charleston, St. Helena Island, and Savannah who were committed to interrogating, understanding, and sharing a more complex narrative of our country’s past and witnessed how people transformed their memories of ancestors, land, and traditions into a source of power.
I left this trip thinking how memory and legacies continue to shape the daily experiences of people today and how misunderstandings from the past make it easier to oppose policies and programs that would address the lasting impact of enslavement and segregation.
Now more than ever we need to honestly confront the truth of our country’s past.