I hope that the Charleston tours and house/"plantation" tours have have finally recognized the horrors of the slave trade and slavery. The last tours that I took were really, really awful. One suggestion: I think that serious historians need to stop using "plantation" when referring to the extensive system of slave/forced labor camps in the south. "Plantation" is way too polite.
5
My family visited Charleston 2 years ago; we were shocked at the racism still on display.
3
"Between 1783 and 1808, some 100,000 slaves, arriving from across West Africa, were transported through Gadsden’s Wharf and other South Carolina ports, and sold to the 13 colonies."
Two things in that sentence that can be added to the growing list of corrections at the end of this article. If we're taking 1776 as a cutoff point, there were more than thirteen Anglo-American colonies in North America by then, including British East and West Florida, the Province of Quebec, and Acadia. These territories were just as much a part of the Atlantic world economy and British imperial project as Virginia, New York, or Massachusetts. The persistent and inaccurate framing of "America" history from the perspective of "thirteen colonies" notwithstanding, the thirteen colonies that declared independence in 1776 were no longer colonial after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Two things in that sentence that can be added to the growing list of corrections at the end of this article. If we're taking 1776 as a cutoff point, there were more than thirteen Anglo-American colonies in North America by then, including British East and West Florida, the Province of Quebec, and Acadia. These territories were just as much a part of the Atlantic world economy and British imperial project as Virginia, New York, or Massachusetts. The persistent and inaccurate framing of "America" history from the perspective of "thirteen colonies" notwithstanding, the thirteen colonies that declared independence in 1776 were no longer colonial after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
1
I still can't figure out the point of this article. Of course, we are all agree that slavery resulted in inconceivable brutality mor many people and are glad to see it banished from the country, including New York. The other story is not as well discussed, however. My family came to the Charleston area in 1692 and were expelled and their family home burned in 1865 by a general who went on to slaughter thousands of Native Americans in a horrific manner that today would be called genocide. Make your own decision about the city - if you feel strongly enough that you can't visit, then don't. I honestly do not think anyone there will miss you.
6
"we are all agree[d]..."
That's nowhere near true.
"if you feel strongly enough that you can't visit"
Who has said this might be the case for him, Larry? Certainly not the writer of the article, who makes Charleston a far more interesting place to visit than, say, the similarly-named Charlestown, Massachussets.
"My family came to the Charleston area in 1692 and were expelled and their family home burned..."
That's heart-breaking. Did your family's slaves feel the same way?
"a general who went on to slaughter thousands of Native Americans in a horrific manner that today would be called genocide"
And, of course, no one from the former slaves-states participated in this slaughter, the horrors of slave-holding having affected them too deeply.
That's nowhere near true.
"if you feel strongly enough that you can't visit"
Who has said this might be the case for him, Larry? Certainly not the writer of the article, who makes Charleston a far more interesting place to visit than, say, the similarly-named Charlestown, Massachussets.
"My family came to the Charleston area in 1692 and were expelled and their family home burned..."
That's heart-breaking. Did your family's slaves feel the same way?
"a general who went on to slaughter thousands of Native Americans in a horrific manner that today would be called genocide"
And, of course, no one from the former slaves-states participated in this slaughter, the horrors of slave-holding having affected them too deeply.
2
To experience a factual tour of Charleston, I suggest the Gullah Tour Company. It is a tour that does not "whitewash" the African American experience during slavery and documents the major contributions of African slaves.
9
Yeah the south is so bad, the north is so great. This need to constantly judge the past and then perversely dump it on the present is EXACTLY why Trump is president. Liberals seem to have decided they'd rather die on their high horses rather than get off and start a conversation.
6
Your comments seem to me to be brittle and defensive. This article talks about how Charleston was ground zero for the slave trade for hundreds of years, and how there's finally more acknowledgement of that today, and thats a good thing overall for blacks and whites both. What are you so bitter about? Is the truth so hard for you to hear? This article seems to be saying its better now and a big part of that is just looking at history honestly.
17
@Brian
Trump is president because of what he had to say about Mexicans, otherwise why did he say it?
Trump is president because of what he had to say about Mexicans, otherwise why did he say it?
2
If you read the article and the comments, you will see that no one is denigrating the south at the expense of the north nor are they trying to bring the past into the future. Or do you really think racism is nothing but a relict of the past? Trump's election argues forcefully that it is not. If you truly want to have a conversation with us on the left, perhaps start by not reducing us to a cartoon and contribute something positive to that conversation.
8
A few years ago my wife and I visited St. Augustine, FL, a very nice little city with an interesting past. While my wife was spending some time in a shop I was not interested in, I wandered over to a central park that contains the old slave trading market site. It's been renovated and modernized but is still set aside and memorialized. I sat there a bit and let my mind wander. As I sat there alone, I was almost crushed by the evil in the atmosphere of the place. It was so hauntingly sad that it almost brought me to tears - it still does when I think about and as I write this comment.
We, and especially the more fortunate of us, like me, need to visit these places of evil, cruelty and sadness and "take it in" if possible and make an attempt, however feeble it may be, to empathize with those that lived in such horrific times and places.
We, and especially the more fortunate of us, like me, need to visit these places of evil, cruelty and sadness and "take it in" if possible and make an attempt, however feeble it may be, to empathize with those that lived in such horrific times and places.
18
I have relatives in Charleston still. And I dated at the Citadel in the 60s, went to plantations owned by cadets' families, etc. The South and its people have long gotten over the war. It took a long time, but because blacks and whites have always lived in close proximity in the south, unlike up north where neighborhoods were segregated by written covenants on deeds, we all interacted daily. I rode my horses in Savannah through the woods behind houses owned by blacks a quarter mile down the road from my home. All the black people looked out for me as there were some rough whites living a short distance beyond all of us.
And I rode my horses almost daily through Pin Point, the birthplace of a supreme court justice. (I've met 2 supreme court justices, but never met him.)
The south had a lot of bigotry and slavery, but so did the north. Didn't slaves first arrive in New England?
And I rode my horses almost daily through Pin Point, the birthplace of a supreme court justice. (I've met 2 supreme court justices, but never met him.)
The south had a lot of bigotry and slavery, but so did the north. Didn't slaves first arrive in New England?
5
@ partlycloudy
Please don't fool yourself; you had a lot more freedom than any black person in the 1960s whose life would have been in danger by attempting to go to a public restroom, not sitting in the back of the bus, or trying to use the front entrance of a movie theater. Somebody was looking out for you (a white child), but who would have protected a black child who didn't "know his place" (like Emmrtt Till).
Please don't fool yourself; you had a lot more freedom than any black person in the 1960s whose life would have been in danger by attempting to go to a public restroom, not sitting in the back of the bus, or trying to use the front entrance of a movie theater. Somebody was looking out for you (a white child), but who would have protected a black child who didn't "know his place" (like Emmrtt Till).
13
For the record, Charleston and the county in which it's located voted blue. Most of the rest of South Carolina voted for Mr. Trump.
The same holds for Savannah. It couldn't out-vote the rest of the state the way New York City dwellers -- that is, except for Staten Islanders -- out-voted the rest of New York State, which also went for Mr. Trump. But Savannah with its Factors Walk and its slave markets voted differently from the rest of Georgia.
Most places have bad histories. Every culture, included African cultures, have done their share of slave-trading and murder.
I like Charleston and Savannah.
Small islands of civility and civic-mindedness in a sea of misguidedness.
No matter what he says, Mr. Trump isn't going to bring back those defunct factories. A vote for Mr. Trump is a vote for a man who, for the amusement of his constituency, makes fun of handicapped people.
Time for us all to make peace with people who have learned from their old mistakes. That includes residents of Charleston.
The same holds for Savannah. It couldn't out-vote the rest of the state the way New York City dwellers -- that is, except for Staten Islanders -- out-voted the rest of New York State, which also went for Mr. Trump. But Savannah with its Factors Walk and its slave markets voted differently from the rest of Georgia.
Most places have bad histories. Every culture, included African cultures, have done their share of slave-trading and murder.
I like Charleston and Savannah.
Small islands of civility and civic-mindedness in a sea of misguidedness.
No matter what he says, Mr. Trump isn't going to bring back those defunct factories. A vote for Mr. Trump is a vote for a man who, for the amusement of his constituency, makes fun of handicapped people.
Time for us all to make peace with people who have learned from their old mistakes. That includes residents of Charleston.
7
Charleston has a long way to go in my judgment. I was there a couple summers ago - to learn about the Reconstruction - shortly after the murders at the Mother Emanuel Church. Took a weekend to visit the lovely city - built mostly with slave labor. The slave market museum was closed on Sunday - not helpful. I was also looking for John C. Calhoun's grave to spit on it, but the cemetery at his church was locked. Lots of ugly history to redeem there.
2
@Robert Breckenridge
You should go to the South Carolina Room in the public library on Calhoun street to learn about Charleston's history; visiting monuments and grave sites won't tell you much.
You should go to the South Carolina Room in the public library on Calhoun street to learn about Charleston's history; visiting monuments and grave sites won't tell you much.
3
And why is indigo no longer grown?
I just returned from Charleston and took an Adventure Sightseeing Tour of this beautiful city. The guide made one racist, sexist and inappropriate remark after another. His comments about the new Jewish Studies building at the College of Charleston, slave rebellions, women at the Citadel and on and on were Really shocking and disappointing
9
I hope you reported him. No one, particularly a paying customer, should be subjected to that kind of behavior, and it's possible the Tour is unaware of this.
2
Why would you qualify your comment with "particularly a paying customer?"
1
Nothing compares to the evils of coastal SC, Georgia growing sea island cotton. Charleston was the major export "port" and the rich planters were greater influenced by the slave holding minister, CC Jones who wrote "The Religious Education of the Negro". In fact, the war was started circumspect to religious irrationality and cotton wealth connected directly to Charleston and a million people died. CC Jones and his son who was the Mayor of Savannah (at the time) were rebel rousing and the war might have started strictly due to their moral authority.
3
Yes, we have a terribly sordid past, so PLEASE, by all means stay away: don't visit or even THINK about buying a house here. There is no room left in this overdeveloped, traffic-ridden nightmare of an inn which was once the beautiful and unique Lowcountry of SC; if our ancestor's wrongs can keep further homogenization away, I'm all for broadcasting them from the rooftops.
13
I visited Charleston several years ago and took a tour to a plantation. The bus driver, also the tour guide talked about
the "kind" plantation owners. He claimed they integrated the
slave's children with their own, allowing them to be schooled and treating them like their own. There was no room for discussion. I was appalled. Scary.
the "kind" plantation owners. He claimed they integrated the
slave's children with their own, allowing them to be schooled and treating them like their own. There was no room for discussion. I was appalled. Scary.
22
I went on a tour of the rice museum in Georgetown, SC a few years ago and the docent emphasized how fortunate the local slaves were. Apparently after they had finished their days work on the plantation they were free to go outside to work for others for pocket money. Deluded. I was also appalled.
15
I am sorry that happened. I have taken many tours here and never had that experience.
10
same happened to me four years ago. Bus driver/tour guide on tour of Magnolia plantation talked about the slave/master relationship as complex and paternalistic. Loved the city but heard several remarks of that sort.
8
Wonderful article. But before we get too far into the holocaust of slavery we might want to acknowledge the holocaust of the beautiful Native Americans who made that land their home before whites destroyed their villages, made their children sick, and forced those who remained off their lands. White Americans have a dialogue to begin with indigenous and dark skinned peoples in this United States. It is true that none of this generation practiced slavery or genocide, but those with whom we identify as whites certainly did. The Trail of Tears began in the southeastern U.S.
24
There's a great book: Red, White, and Black Make Blue: Indigo in the Fabric of Colonial South Carolina Life (University of Georgia Press ISBN-10: 0820345539) that explains how the drive inland by Europeans for land to grow indigo, using slave labor, drove those local Native Americans off their land and deeper into the hills. It was the first act leading to The Indian Removal Act, signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.
12
Charleston is a magical place.
4
"the so-called Holy City" ....
Not an accurate statement on Charleston. We are in fact a predominately a faith based society. In fact, when evil personified arrived in Charleston that June evening, because we are in fact the "Holy City" and overwhelmingly people of faith, it is faith that got us through this unimaginable tragedy. When the sun rose on Charleston the very next morning, and the full horror was known, no marches, no riots but a return to our places of worship and a bonding of people of all color to over ride the evil. Love and prayer beats hate any day.
Not an accurate statement on Charleston. We are in fact a predominately a faith based society. In fact, when evil personified arrived in Charleston that June evening, because we are in fact the "Holy City" and overwhelmingly people of faith, it is faith that got us through this unimaginable tragedy. When the sun rose on Charleston the very next morning, and the full horror was known, no marches, no riots but a return to our places of worship and a bonding of people of all color to over ride the evil. Love and prayer beats hate any day.
12
Although faith is almost always associated with religious or spiritual nature, it may come in other forms, and not all of them are good. For example, satanic faith. However, in this particular case, I would call it faith in racial superiority, as bad as that is. I believe what you wrote, and the facts support it; however, we are defined by our actions (or inaction, as you pointed out). In order to "beat hate", first one must own it, or own that it exists. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this "conversation".
10
The article identifies the spike in the slave trade which began in 1783 - the year the British who had been occupying the City for two years whus winding down the Revolutionary War. Until recently I had never learned that the enslaved people of the Carolinas had been promised their liberty for fighting on behalf of the Crown. Thus the 5,000-9,000 newly liberated African Loyalists = who departed with the British in 1783 combined with the many who died during the conflict bears a significant role in the increased demand for enslaved labor. Isn't it time to revise the history of the American Revolution>? Clearly slavery played a far more significant and dynamic role in the founding of America.
19
We will never release the "chains" of this original sin and its consequences until there is a national honest process of reconciliation that is formalized in some manner, how, I do not know. I am not optimistic about Americans ever wanting to learn from the past. We do not look in that direction, except to Make America Great Again. For WHO was it so great? When you are used to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
46
Thank you, Ron Stodghill, for this excellent and essential piece. May we continue to bring to light this ugly chapter of our nation's history.
22
I agree. I was greatly impressed by the story, and I noticed that many of the descendants of slave-owning whites have gone out of their way to honor the many human beings they owned and took advantage of. This counts! Of course I also notice how many Trump backers who want to erase all history that they don't like.
5
I am a descendant of Southerners, including slave owners. I never felt comfortable anywhere there when I had to go there on business. Of course, in fairness, slavery is not just a Southern sin. It is a national one. Huge fortunes were built in New England not on slave labor so much as slave trading. The economy of this country was built on both the slave trade and slave labor for more than 200 years.
So I do not cast stones lightly here. We white people (and some blacks and Native Americans) who bought and profited from slaves share in its iniquitous heritage, as do the African and Muslim slave traders who sold their kin and co-religionists for profit.
At an advanced age and now quite unhealthy, I have no yen to see the South anymore. I adore the food, I admit, from Tex-Mex to all things New Orleans to the wonderful seafood of Florida and all along the Southeastern seaboard. But it's just not enough.
We did spend some time in Hawai'i this summer, though. Among old schoolmates, 95% of them non-white. Nothing special about that, just how it happened to be. Felt great, eating ono grinds, talking story, being received as part of a huge ohana. That is a part of my past I will always cherish.
The slave part? Not so much. But as with the Holocaust, we dare not forget, so I applaud Charleston's efforts, and let's be honest, spearheaded by liberal and African-Americans, to bring the real and honest past front and center.
So I do not cast stones lightly here. We white people (and some blacks and Native Americans) who bought and profited from slaves share in its iniquitous heritage, as do the African and Muslim slave traders who sold their kin and co-religionists for profit.
At an advanced age and now quite unhealthy, I have no yen to see the South anymore. I adore the food, I admit, from Tex-Mex to all things New Orleans to the wonderful seafood of Florida and all along the Southeastern seaboard. But it's just not enough.
We did spend some time in Hawai'i this summer, though. Among old schoolmates, 95% of them non-white. Nothing special about that, just how it happened to be. Felt great, eating ono grinds, talking story, being received as part of a huge ohana. That is a part of my past I will always cherish.
The slave part? Not so much. But as with the Holocaust, we dare not forget, so I applaud Charleston's efforts, and let's be honest, spearheaded by liberal and African-Americans, to bring the real and honest past front and center.
56
For those who want to learn more of the dreadful U.S. history of slavery there is a new excellent book 'The American Slave Coast' by Ned & Constance Sublette. In 1808 President Jefferson supported and passed a law prohibiting the importation of slaves. That's when things got uglier as the Southern plantation owners needed slaves to work, as did those involved in the Western expansion. So Virginia started slave breeding, it was the capitalized womb as female slaves of breeding age commanded a high price. and could produce a child every year. Many were bred like stock and used as collateral to secure loans!
4
What an incredibly moving account of our sordid history. Slavery is America's original sin. Here's hoping that every child who grows up here learns about this Holocaust.
34
My maternal grandfather was a Geechee from coastal South Carolina. He was born in 1888 and lived there until he was forced to leave the state in the dead of night in late 1922. My mother refused to speak of it, the family having caught a night train North. Cryptic legend has it that he sassed a white man who, insulted, threatened to return with corrective reinforcements in the morning.
I've always loathed the Palmetto State from afar. I've visited it twice, in 1948 as a four-year-old and again, fearfully driving (at speed) through it in 2002 with my wife. Part of America's determined ignorance and studied refusal to come to grips with this horror is partly, I think, the consequences of popular culture (Clark Gable's rakish, likeable character in Gone With The Wind) and shame.
The Selznick Brothers, in their cinematic recreation of Margaret Mitchell's apologia for slavery and racism, did naught but further the white supremacist justification for the outrage. The film gave it out that slavery really wasn't so bad. It made guilty America exhale, the act disguising its 180-degree removal from the Christian principles that, gratuitously employed, betrayed not only Christ but the still-young nation's idealism, all forgotten when the traffic of human beings promised profit.
I've always loathed the Palmetto State from afar. I've visited it twice, in 1948 as a four-year-old and again, fearfully driving (at speed) through it in 2002 with my wife. Part of America's determined ignorance and studied refusal to come to grips with this horror is partly, I think, the consequences of popular culture (Clark Gable's rakish, likeable character in Gone With The Wind) and shame.
The Selznick Brothers, in their cinematic recreation of Margaret Mitchell's apologia for slavery and racism, did naught but further the white supremacist justification for the outrage. The film gave it out that slavery really wasn't so bad. It made guilty America exhale, the act disguising its 180-degree removal from the Christian principles that, gratuitously employed, betrayed not only Christ but the still-young nation's idealism, all forgotten when the traffic of human beings promised profit.
49
Doubtless, Gone with the Wind was one work among many, that contributed to a romanticised, cleansed view of our history, minimising or ignoring its brutality and sometimes heroising those who were clearly in the wrong.
Interesting that you mention the Selznick brothers, but not Victor Fleming, the film's director, who gave shape to Sidney Howard's screenplay. What to make of that?
Interesting that you mention the Selznick brothers, but not Victor Fleming, the film's director, who gave shape to Sidney Howard's screenplay. What to make of that?
3
This is a well written and well researched article, but as a resident of the area for three decades, I was a bit dismayed at the assertion that the tragic Emmanuel AME shooting and the subsequent removal of the Confederate flag from the state capitol (in Columbia, not Charleston), reinforced the writer's sense that Charleston "was holding fast to its legacy of racial hatred." The shooter, Dylan Roof, was from Columbia, 100 miles away, and sadly and ironically chose his targets here in our city because he understood the historic significance of "Mother Emanuel." His exposure to racist literature and paraphernalia did not arise in our city, and if the writer had checked more closely, he would have found that people of all races in Charleston quickly came together (figuratively and physically) around the church and its members to express their grief and support. As for the Confederate flag, it actually came down from the dome of the state capitol in 2000, after 50,000 people, black and white, came together in the largest demonstration the state capital had every seen. The flag did continue to fly on the statehouse grounds until after the shooting, when SC Governor Nikki Haley led the initiative that quickly removed the flag permanently from the grounds.
38
As a Charlestonian, I am following the Slager/Scott trial very closely. The depiction in this article... Of an unarmed black man running from a traffic stop... Is completely false. Mr. Scott attacked the police officer, tried to take his taser and assaulted him... Which makes him a violent felon.
10
which is why, of course, it is completely ok to shoot a man in the back seven times....
38
Walter Scott was murdered. No one can watch the video of his shooting and not be sick at heart.
7
The dark side of Charleston's history is palpable amidst the carriages, tourists and church bells.
Efforts to illuminate it are present, but insufficient. I am hopeful that the museum will do the honorable work of bringing it into the light-to integrate the city's historical memory.
Also, Jonathan Green's work is beautiful. Another relevant & brilliant artist working in Charleston- Fletcher Williams-fletcher3.com
Efforts to illuminate it are present, but insufficient. I am hopeful that the museum will do the honorable work of bringing it into the light-to integrate the city's historical memory.
Also, Jonathan Green's work is beautiful. Another relevant & brilliant artist working in Charleston- Fletcher Williams-fletcher3.com
11
Good read in the rich History of Charleston,SC. And if I could also point out, that there was a large POW camp which held Union solders there. Very bad just like its Union POW camps counter-parts as well. And at the end of the Civil War, the local , now free blacks held a parade in honor of those so many who had died there. A prelude for celebrating Memorial Day here ?
PS, and who ever took our iron Race Track Gates from here & went to NYC Aqueduct Race Track,please return. thank you
PS, and who ever took our iron Race Track Gates from here & went to NYC Aqueduct Race Track,please return. thank you
10
Michael Slager, now on trial for murder, had been a member of the North Charleston police force, not Charleston.
9
Before everyone forgets, New York, New Jersey and Delaware were all slave states.
13
True. But we gave up our slaves voluntarily and didn't attempt to rip apart our young country in order to keep them.
4
"New York, New Jersey and Delaware were all slave states."
So what? Every one of the original thirteen was once a slave state.
So what? Every one of the original thirteen was once a slave state.
When Charleston's International African American Museum opens, let us hope it draws far bigger crowds, with many more schoolchildren's tours, than that ridiculous creation museum in Kentucky.
21
Breathtaking.
Bravo Mr. Stodghill.
Such fluent, yet heart-breaking writing.
This should be on the front page.
Why isn't it?
Bravo Mr. Stodghill.
Such fluent, yet heart-breaking writing.
This should be on the front page.
Why isn't it?
11
I doubt the slave story includes African slavers, then and now
As for self-emancipation via a lucky lottery ticket, that is not our main image of squalor and immiseration
The $600 figure, in 1822, crudely adapts by inflation adjuster, to ~$11k, these days
I make no defense of chattel or its culture
An ugly and useful resource, is DeBows Review, maybe 1840-1860, available via internet, an agricultural/ commodities journal, including slaves as assets, and including laws of their care, and protection (as asserts, but also maybe as humans)
As for self-emancipation via a lucky lottery ticket, that is not our main image of squalor and immiseration
The $600 figure, in 1822, crudely adapts by inflation adjuster, to ~$11k, these days
I make no defense of chattel or its culture
An ugly and useful resource, is DeBows Review, maybe 1840-1860, available via internet, an agricultural/ commodities journal, including slaves as assets, and including laws of their care, and protection (as asserts, but also maybe as humans)
4
I remember going to the old slave mart in Charleston and as I passed through the various vendors, I spotted one who had some terrible-looking black mammy dolls on key rings. I didn't like seeing that in a place where my ancestors, those from SC, were sold.
6
The vendors are in the City Market, not the Slave Mart Museum, you are mistaken. Slaves were never sold or auctioned at the market where tourist trinkets are vended.
7
That doesn't make it acceptable to sell offensive objects.
12
As William Faulkner stated - the past is ever present. The election of a racist and misogynistic bigot proves that nothing has changed in this country.
47
When this African American Museum opens, will it be closed on Confederate Memorial Day? Yes, that's an actual state holiday in SC, added cynically to the state calendar in 2000, when ignoring Martin Luther King day became untenable.
60
It's not only Charleston that hasn't come to terms with its past, although, it has in recent times begun to recognize its painful history. Hopefully this new Museum will help.
About 10 years ago, on a charity home tour in Charlotte NC, the hostess pointed to a set of silverware in a fan shaped frame over one of the dining room doors. The silver had been buried by one of her ancestors to keep them from Sherman's troops during the Civil War, she explained; they were a symbol of "the recent unpleasantness." My son-in-law, confused, asked "the recent unpleasantness"? I explained she meant the Civil War. He was dumbfounded, as was I, because as transplanted Northerners, we thought this war was over more than 250 years ago.
That charity home tour brought about a sad realization about our southern states.
About 10 years ago, on a charity home tour in Charlotte NC, the hostess pointed to a set of silverware in a fan shaped frame over one of the dining room doors. The silver had been buried by one of her ancestors to keep them from Sherman's troops during the Civil War, she explained; they were a symbol of "the recent unpleasantness." My son-in-law, confused, asked "the recent unpleasantness"? I explained she meant the Civil War. He was dumbfounded, as was I, because as transplanted Northerners, we thought this war was over more than 250 years ago.
That charity home tour brought about a sad realization about our southern states.
33
If you hear someone refer to the Civil War as "the recent unpleasantness," you are most likely on a tour of a historic building, and the docent or tour guide is trying to give you a feel for the attitudes and actions of people who lived and worked there some 150 years ago. You misinterpreted the tour guide's words.
7
Oops, that's 150 years ago.
3
"You misinterpreted the tour guide's words." Aparently not! I too was shocked when at the end of our bus tour of the Charleston area a few years ago the bus driver yelled out that he will absouletely not accept the US five dollar bill as a tip due to Abraham Lincoln's picture being on it. While at the small grocery store located on the Magnolia Plantation flyers insisting that the civil war was not about economics or slavery but about taxes and states rights were openly displayed.
21
The evils of the slave trade in the South is only half the story:
"The North also imported slaves, as well as transporting and selling them in the south and abroad. While the majority of enslaved Africans arrived in southern ports ... most large colonial ports served as points of entry, and Africans were sold in northern ports including Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Newport, Rhode Island."
"The North also imported slaves, as well as transporting and selling them in the south and abroad. While the majority of enslaved Africans arrived in southern ports ... most large colonial ports served as points of entry, and Africans were sold in northern ports including Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Newport, Rhode Island."
31
Northern business men also profited nicely by exporting the crops grown in the South.
14
This article and everything like it helps. America's ugly past has been swept under the rug for so long, these little glimmers enlighten, but does not dull the pain. Despite what you have heard or read, slavery was so much worse than what has been depicted or written. Until we as a country come to terms with slavery and the racism that continues, there can not be a reconciliation. If there is reconciliation, African-Americans can never get back what was lost.
Even reparations can never make us whole again. We, as a people continue to endure unfairness, bigotry, discrimination from nearly all of America's institutions. If you do not know where your ancestors came from, you have no beginning and no middle, only an end. At the end of the day, this glimmer of light will become a tourist boom for the city of Charleston. That's right, keep lining your pockets.
Even reparations can never make us whole again. We, as a people continue to endure unfairness, bigotry, discrimination from nearly all of America's institutions. If you do not know where your ancestors came from, you have no beginning and no middle, only an end. At the end of the day, this glimmer of light will become a tourist boom for the city of Charleston. That's right, keep lining your pockets.
27
The past, really? Maybe someone has missed the Trump electoral map.
56
Most of New York State voted for Mr. Trump. It's only the greater population of four of our five boroughs in New York City that gave our electoral votes to Mrs. Clinton.
Charleston voted for Mrs. Clinton too. But it doesn't have the population that the Big Apple does and couldn't give South Carolina to her.
Charleston voted for Mrs. Clinton too. But it doesn't have the population that the Big Apple does and couldn't give South Carolina to her.
5
A compelling narrative. And yet, when I visit (annually since my wife is from there), things have changed less than we might imagine.
Tourists (almost all White) pack the streets, shop on King Street, and eat at the expensive restaurants. "Diversity" means the socio-economic status of Whites. Not racial.
Sure the slavery has ended, but equality is still a world away.
Tourists (almost all White) pack the streets, shop on King Street, and eat at the expensive restaurants. "Diversity" means the socio-economic status of Whites. Not racial.
Sure the slavery has ended, but equality is still a world away.
87
"equality is still a world away"
Even in Boston, for those of us who remember the busing et al.
Even in Boston, for those of us who remember the busing et al.
2
This is an important and well-told story regarding Charleston and the role it played, over a long period of time, in perpetuating an institution we sometimes can scarcely believe could really be a part of this country’s rich history. Yet, it is. Americans should never forget, nor should they ever stop teaching our children about this painful legacy. To their credit, there are many institutions in Charleston that are deeply committed to properly interpreting even the most painful aspects of the region’s history.
The article mentions reunions of black and white descendants of Middleton Place, the home of Arthur Middleton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The most recent reunion concluded this past weekend, with approximately 250 attendees who shared their stories with one another, both informally and formally in moderated discussions. They reflected thoughtfully on the circumstances that brought them to this time and place. It was a wonderful demonstration of a way forward for all Americans as we continue to look for ways to heal the racial divisions that afflict us still.
The article mentions reunions of black and white descendants of Middleton Place, the home of Arthur Middleton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The most recent reunion concluded this past weekend, with approximately 250 attendees who shared their stories with one another, both informally and formally in moderated discussions. They reflected thoughtfully on the circumstances that brought them to this time and place. It was a wonderful demonstration of a way forward for all Americans as we continue to look for ways to heal the racial divisions that afflict us still.
48
Charleston like many cities in the South has a pretty façade but a very ugly interior (the past.) My husband was stationed in Charleston when it had a US Navy base and we've visited a number of times since then. We enjoy the beauty of the old mansions in the Battery, the historic churches, the famous plantations that are a short drive from the city but we can never forget that all of this was made possibly by the incredible brutality and inhumanity that was the slave trade.
Slavery is the stain that will never wash out of the human fabric because of the racism attached to it that continues and flourishes to this day and led to the outcome of the election last week which was a cesspool of bigotry, racism and resentment.
Slavery is the stain that will never wash out of the human fabric because of the racism attached to it that continues and flourishes to this day and led to the outcome of the election last week which was a cesspool of bigotry, racism and resentment.
120
I'm sorry and the winning bigot of a candidate was from where? And he did not win Charleston county by the way
39
Thank you for the phenomenally detailed and encompassing article. A minor quibble:
The sentence "The appeal of West Africans to plantation owners was simple: The moist climate of their homeland bore striking similarities to South Carolina’s swampy Lowcountry" is a little too simple; it's like saying that Brazil is an attractive place to people from Miami because Brazil is so urban.
There are swampy parts of West Africa, and non-swampy parts; even excluding the regions where the primary crop is not rice, in some places wetland rice is grown, and in others, upland rice. While many slaves came right from the coastal strip, caravans of captive Africans would make their way to the coast from as far away as the Sahel, then a grassy scrubland somewhat reminiscent of Eastern Colorado.
While planter preference for pre-enslavement experience played a role in sourcing, there were other factors, too: Where in West and Central Africa were the best harbors? Who controlled these harbors at any given time, and what were their policies toward ships likely to land in North America? What reputation did Africans shipped from certain places have for various types of resistance?
While it's tangential to your main points, treating West Africa as an undifferentiated place where people were good at planting rice in swamps fails to open a window onto the sheer diversity of the Africans who came, over the course of hundreds of years, to South Carolina, and to the Americas generally. Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
The sentence "The appeal of West Africans to plantation owners was simple: The moist climate of their homeland bore striking similarities to South Carolina’s swampy Lowcountry" is a little too simple; it's like saying that Brazil is an attractive place to people from Miami because Brazil is so urban.
There are swampy parts of West Africa, and non-swampy parts; even excluding the regions where the primary crop is not rice, in some places wetland rice is grown, and in others, upland rice. While many slaves came right from the coastal strip, caravans of captive Africans would make their way to the coast from as far away as the Sahel, then a grassy scrubland somewhat reminiscent of Eastern Colorado.
While planter preference for pre-enslavement experience played a role in sourcing, there were other factors, too: Where in West and Central Africa were the best harbors? Who controlled these harbors at any given time, and what were their policies toward ships likely to land in North America? What reputation did Africans shipped from certain places have for various types of resistance?
While it's tangential to your main points, treating West Africa as an undifferentiated place where people were good at planting rice in swamps fails to open a window onto the sheer diversity of the Africans who came, over the course of hundreds of years, to South Carolina, and to the Americas generally. Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
74
My family took a tour of downtown Charleston this past spring. During the course of that tour our guide explained that the conditions that the slaves lived in had been "overblown by popular culture." to which my ten-year-old replied: "Really!?! They were slaves, right?" Our tour came to an abrupt end after that exchange.
174
love that kid! kudos!
32
On our walking tour (which was otherwise excellent) the guide refused to call the Civil War "the Civil War". Down here, he "explained" we call it The War Between the States. Nice gloss.
37
Reading about your experience reminded me of the day back in 1978 when my high school AP American History teacher said, verbatim, "slavery was good for the black man because it brought him from a primitive society to a more advanced one." As one of the 3 or 4 African-Americans in the class, I immediately replied: "Really!?" I then demanded to give a presentation on the Black experience in America and I did the next day. When I finished, there were more than a few teary eyes in the room -- including the teacher's. I truly admire your ten-year old. Well done!
117
This excellant article fails to mention the very well researched historical novel , THE INVENTION OF WINGS by Sue Monk Kidd.
9
Although beautifully written, The Invention of Wings is not, unfortunately, a "very well researched historical novel." Among other things, the novel perpetuates the old myth that Denmark Vesey practiced polygamy, and that he was hanged from a tree in the midst of the city. (He had three sequential wives over the course of a long life--he was able to purchase and free only the last, Susan Vesey--and he was hanged from a gallows on the far northern edge of the city.)
2
Wow! This still misses the big story for today. Charleston has systematically and intentionally excluded both the black narrative and their physical presence. Stephanie Yuhl's "A Golden Haze of Memory" tells the cultural story.
The physical / spatial story is told in Charleston's early 20th century attempt at racial zoning, excluding blacks from their historical communities in the old city. This was reinforced, as evidenced in Sanborn atlases, by providing public water to the big houses on the main streets and ignoring the black residences on the rear alleys, leaving blacks to get water from the remaining polluted cisterns.
When racial zoning was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court, not because of its inherent discrimination, but because it stopped white property owners from selling to whom they pleased, Charleston turned to historic districts, requiring building owners to "restore" to a high level. Since blacks could not afford the cost of the restoration, they were forced out of their neighborhoods. Under Mayor Riley, historic districts have now been expanded north, covering most of the peninsula and Charleston is now largely free of its historic black community. Emanuel AME Church is now in a largely white neighborhood.
The Charleston model has spread across the eastern United States. Philadelphia's old colonial city, renamed Society Hill, once diverse, is now 99% white. New York's Greenwich Village is similarly devoid of minorities.
The physical / spatial story is told in Charleston's early 20th century attempt at racial zoning, excluding blacks from their historical communities in the old city. This was reinforced, as evidenced in Sanborn atlases, by providing public water to the big houses on the main streets and ignoring the black residences on the rear alleys, leaving blacks to get water from the remaining polluted cisterns.
When racial zoning was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court, not because of its inherent discrimination, but because it stopped white property owners from selling to whom they pleased, Charleston turned to historic districts, requiring building owners to "restore" to a high level. Since blacks could not afford the cost of the restoration, they were forced out of their neighborhoods. Under Mayor Riley, historic districts have now been expanded north, covering most of the peninsula and Charleston is now largely free of its historic black community. Emanuel AME Church is now in a largely white neighborhood.
The Charleston model has spread across the eastern United States. Philadelphia's old colonial city, renamed Society Hill, once diverse, is now 99% white. New York's Greenwich Village is similarly devoid of minorities.
89
Greenwich Village, devoid of minorities? I see diversity in all its rainbow glory when I'm in the village.
17
You see diversity as you walk the streets, yes, as you do in Charleston. But who LIVES in Greenwich Village?
7
That " rainbow diversity" you saw are tourists like you. The whole of Manhattan is actually being whitewashed these days.
6
Disappointing that this article overlooks the 1991 art project, "Places with a Past," a group of installations created by 23 artists throughout Charleston, reflecting the city's complex and troublesome history. The project, curated by Mary Jane Jacob, received excellent reviews, including by the Times, and is documented in a beautiful publication that can still be obtained on the secondary market.
16
Several years ago, while on a tour of Boone Hall Plantation, our guide, a woman dressed in 19th century clothes never once used the words "slave" or "slavery". Instead the slaves were "the plantations workers". Clearly, the people of Charleston, like the rest of the nation is still in denial, or blissfully unaware of the horrors of American slavery.
135
I'd be careful about generalizing about the people of Charleston. As a descendant of slave owners on both sides of my family and a dedicated liberal for my entire life, I can speak to the complexity of identity that many locals here are saddled with. There is no shortage of willfully ignorant bigots or uninformed apologists, but it's worth noting that Charleston county voted for Clinton over Trump by nearly an 8 point margin. This is certainly a reflection of the influx of tourists who have relocated here permanently since hurricane Hugo in '89, but let's not forget that your tour guide could have just as easily been from Ohio as they could have been from South of Broad. I would be happy to introduce you to a large group of charming, racially diverse, stubbornly liberal-minded and intellectual folks down here. And they all know how to cook!
77
My family and I toured Boone Hall this August. The tour and other presentations acknowledged the past and slavery in detail and didn't appear to hide or sugar coat anything. In fact, every one of the slave houses that sit outside the main hall had graphics and recorded presentations that covered nothing but slave life and welfare.
My impression was that Boone Hall and it's owner, employees and others were forthright and vocal about the role of slaves in the plantation's history and success. I'm surprised at your comment - clearly your narrative fits a more newsworthy negative impression - but it doesn't fit with the facts that my family and friends experienced.
My impression was that Boone Hall and it's owner, employees and others were forthright and vocal about the role of slaves in the plantation's history and success. I'm surprised at your comment - clearly your narrative fits a more newsworthy negative impression - but it doesn't fit with the facts that my family and friends experienced.
6
Many docents, park rangers, and tour guides now use the term "enslaved person" instead of "slave." I feel the intent is to focus on the condition or external forces acting on the person, rather than describing the person in a demeaning way.
4
Great story. Well written. Thank you.
29
An enchanting, friendly, fascinating city that has maintained its heritage from the 1800s
9
Nothing great about maintaining a heritage from the 1800's from my point of view. Some of my ancestors came from there - the black ones.
14
Just spent time in South Carolina. Haunting. Felt the presence of the ghosts of slaves whose hands had built the really beautiful structures. Also noted the remnants of bird life surviving despite the gated 'towns' that have disfigured the islands once inhabited by freed slaves and before that by indigenous peoples as well as much more vibrant bird and other wildlife populations.
27
Yea we had to build the gated communities for folk fromChicago and the northeast who are terrified to live on a majority black Sea island. For 200 years we needed no gated communities. Look at the tax records and see where the tax old are sent from those gated communities. The hypocrisy is astonishing.
19
I can't wait until this project is completed. I will visit Charleston again specifically to see it. Thank you all for your efforts.
22