Charleston, South Carolina: The Hub for Understanding the African American Journey

Charleston, South Carolina is beloved by tourists for its sense of place and connection to the past. It's also the epicenter of a region recognized by Congress in 2006 as the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor, which runs along southeastern seaboard of the United States between Wilmington, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida.

That makes it an ideal place to learn about Gullah Geechee people, the direct descendants of people kidnapped from West African nations over a span of 400 years. Enslaved on isolated islands and coastal plantations, these unwilling immigrants triumphed over miserable circumstances by meshing their various languages, food, art, music and religious practices with those of their captors to form their own identity.

"Without Gullah Geechee culture, there is no black culture," says Tamara Butler, Ph.D., executive director at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, in Charleston, South Carolina. The center is located in a former public school built by free black Americans for free black Americans, the first of its kind in Charleston.

The International African American Museum is a new Charleston landmark that aims "to honor the untold stories of the African American journey at one of our country's most sacred sites." More than 20 years in the making, the museum opened in June of 2023 on Gadsden's Wharf, a port that once thrived on the transatlantic slave trade. The wharf, alongside the many other ports in the Charleston Harbor, facilitated the disembarkation of an estimated 45 percent of African captives forced into enslavement in this country. For anyone in need of better understanding of the African American journey and the cruel, senseless practice of chattel slavery, the museum is obligatory.

Designed by the U.S. architecture studios Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Moody Nolan, the museum sits atop 18 piers that elevate the galleries 13 feet above the ground. Below the galleries is the African Ancestors Memorial Garden, an outdoor space designed by MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant landscape and public artist Walter Hood. In reverence of countless African people who lost their families, freedom, native cultures and their lives due to slavery, this space is consecrated as sacred ground. Admission to the garden is free to encourage full engagement with landscaping and art symbolizing the site's historical significance.

Some African American families use the museum's Center for Family History (CFH ) as a resource for conducting genealogical research - a task complicated by the destruction of many records during the Civil War. Inside the CFH , look for a prodigious sweetgrass/wood bench made by one of the nation's foremost Gullah Geechee artists, Corey Alston.

Alston is a fourth-generation sweetgrass artist whose intricate baskets, along with those made by his daughter, wife and mother, can be purchased at The Historic Charleston City Market. On the day I met him, Alston was in the family's booth, working on a large basket commissioned by an unnamed museum.

"How long will it take you to finish?" I asked. Alston estimated the project would
require hundreds of hours of labor, not counting the time needed to harvest and cure sweetgrass drawn from snake-laden swamps. With that in mind, a fair-minded person will think twice before negotiating the price of a sweetgrass basket.

"We're not just selling baskets here," Alston explains. "We're keeping Gullah Geechee culture alive and adding another layer to a traveler's knowledge and experience."

The artistry of sweetgrass basketmaking is derived from the rice-growing regions of Africa, where rice was separated from its husk by fanning it in flat, sweetgrass baskets. Much like the agricultural and engineering talent brought to the North American continent through slavery, sweetgrass artistry is an imported skill.

''Africans were growing rice for hundreds of years and were tasked with transferring that knowledge upon their forced migration to North America," says Jarnilah Frazier, assistant to the CEO and president at the International African American Museum.

In aerial photos of South Carolina's ACE Basin, you can still see thousands of acres of historic rice fields carved into the marshland by slaves, according to Butler at the Avery Research Center, an archive, library and museum of Charleston's African American history.

Charleston is a highly walkable city with exceptional historic inns like 20 South Battery, built in 1843. This stately, hospitable mansion is located opposite White Point Garden with views of Fort Sumter and the Charleston Harbor. The top floor has an extraordinary library, added by its second owner, Colonel Lather of the Union Army. Lather purchased the home in 1870 and hosted many meetings meant to restore peace between people on both sides of slavery. Two blocks from this boutique hotel is The Battery, a fortified promenade and defensive seawall. Walk several blocks of the promenade, then circle back to 20 South Battery via the street that borders the promenade, East Bay Street. Pause for a selfie along the colorful pastel houses known as Rainbow Row.

If at all possible, be at 20 South Battery each afternoon for wine and charcuterie served on the veranda. During these leisurely hours, the hotel's concierge team sets the stage for delightful meetings of the mind between guests. We met former Charleston residents who were persuaded to leave their Charleston historic home by the ghost who shared their space.

Maximize your exposure to African American and/or Gullah Geechee culture with gems you might not discover on your own

Lunch or dinner at Bintu Atelier
The modest atmosphere is eclipsed by the unique culinary experience, created by Bintou N'Daw Young, a French and Senegalese chef who wows diners with lively flavors from the African continent. You'll need a reservation. They don't have a liquor license, but you can bring your own bottle.
Bintu Atelier, SD Line Street, Charleston, South Carolina, 843-478-4144

Gullah Tours by Alphonso Brown
Mr. Brown is an African descendant with Gullah Geechee heritage. He is also a respected author, historian and Charleston
tour guide. Brown's tours are insightful, comprehensive and fun.
GullahTours.com, 375 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina, 843-763-7551

African American Fiber Art Exhibition
This exhibition of African American fiber art has been an annual event for 17 years. Founded and juried by the award-winning textile artist Torreah "Cookie" Washington, the show highlights today's best African American fiber art, displayed in North Charleston all of May and the first two weeks of June.
Park Circle Community Building, 4800 Park Circle, North Charleston, South Carolina