The opening of the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, marks a significant moment for descendants of enslaved Africans.
This new landmark becomes a site of pilgrimage and a place of homecoming for those whose ancestors arrived on the docks of the lowcountry coast.
Overlooking the old wharf in Charleston, which was the first point of entry for nearly half of the enslaved population in North America, the museum covers 150,000 square feet and houses several exhibits and artifacts that explore the significant contributions of African Americans.
These contributions have influenced the culture, labor force, resistance, and perseverance of the Carolinas, America as a whole, and the world.
The International African American Museum also features a genealogy research center, which is designed to support families in tracing the arrival of their ancestors on the land. The center aims to provide a deeper understanding of the experiences that African Americans went through during slavery and how it has affected them and the wider community.
The opening of the museum comes at a time when the idea of Black people’s survival through slavery, oppression, and racism is being threatened within the United States.
Despite this, the leaders of the museum have made it clear that the museum’s existence is not an attempt to refute current attempts to suppress history, but rather a way of promoting dialogue and discovery.
The museum serves as an essential tool to illuminate the history of African Americans, which has long been ignored or denied, and educate visitors about the lasting impact of slavery and the resilience and perseverance of Black people throughout history.
The International African American Museum has been designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of African Americans during slavery and beyond. In addition to exhibits and artifacts, the museum also houses a genealogy research center where families can trace their ancestors’ journey from the point of arrival on the land.
With the resurgence of movements seeking to suppress history and marginalize racial minorities, the opening of the museum is a timely reminder of the critical role that Black people played in shaping the nation’s history. The museum’s leaders have also emphasized the importance of facilitating dialogue and encouraging discovery as a means of overcoming ignorance and prejudice.
By shedding light on the often-ignored and forgotten history of African Americans, the International African
The screens are strategically positioned, seemingly extending an inviting gesture to all visitors, guiding their gaze towards the expansive windows and the balcony located at the back of the museum.
From this vantage point, one can behold the breathtaking panorama of the Charleston harbor, stretching out in all its grandeur.
One of the standout features of this museum is its gallery dedicated entirely to the history and culture of the Gullah Geechee people, who lived on rice, indigo, and cotton plantations on coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Florida.
Despite their isolation, the Gullah Geechee were able to maintain ties to their West African cultural traditions and developed their own creole language. The gallery showcases this unique cultural heritage through multiple forms of media, including a chapel-sized “praise house.” Here, visitors can learn how the Gullah Geechee’s faith expressions influenced Black American gospel music.
Recently, the museum held its grand opening ceremony, which was attended by its founders, staff, elected officials, and other invited guests.
Emceed by award-winning actress and director Phylicia Rashad, the program included stirring performances by poet Nikky Finney and the McIntosh County Shouters, who perform songs passed down by enslaved African Americans.
Overall, the day was an exciting and impressive showcase of the museum’s dedication to celebrating the unique contributions of the Gullah Geechee people to American culture.
The International African American Museum has opened its doors to the public in South Carolina, becoming a site of homecoming and pilgrimage for descendants of enslaved Africans who were brought to the Western Hemisphere via the lowcountry coast.
The museum is located in Charleston and sits overlooking the old wharf where nearly half of the enslaved population first entered North America. The 150,000-square-foot facility features nine galleries that contain nearly a dozen interactive exhibits of more than 150 historical objects and 30 works of art. The museum also includes a genealogy research center to help families trace their ancestors’ journey from point of arrival on the land.
One of the unique features of the museum is its gallery dedicated to the history and culture of the Gullah Geechee people. On Saturday, the museum’s founders, staff, elected officials, and other invited guests dedicated the museum’s grounds in a ceremony emceed by award-winning actress and director Phylicia Rashad.
Gadsden’s Wharf, a waterfront plot where up to 45% of enslaved Africans brought to the United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries walked, sets the tone for how the International African American Museum is experienced.
The wharf, built by Revolutionary War figure Christopher Gadsden, is now part of an ancestral garden that features black granite walls on the spot of a former storage house where enslaved people perished awaiting transport to the slave market.
The walls display lines from Maya Angelou’s poem “And Still I Rise.” The museum’s main structure is located above the wharf by 18 columns, with a shallow fountain underneath to pay tribute to the men, women, and children who were inhumanely shackled together in the transatlantic slave trade.
Additionally, the museum’s location overlooking Gadsden’s Wharf is a powerful reminder of the brutal realities of the transatlantic slave trade. The intentional design of the ancestral garden, with black granite walls and lines from Maya Angelou’s poem, serves as a powerful tribute to those who suffered on this site.
The museum’s main structure does not touch the sacred ground of Gadsden’s Wharf, but instead stands above it on columns, with a shallow fountain underneath to honor the enslaved individuals who were shackled together in the belly of slave ships.
Overall, the museum’s design and location aim to offer a respectful and poignant tribute to the African American experience and the legacy of slavery in the United States.
The International African American Museum in Charleston is part of a growing number of institutions dedicated to teaching a more accurate history of the Black experience in America.
While the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. is well-known, there are also lesser-known Afrocentric museums and exhibits throughout the country, such as The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, which highlight the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and lynching in America.
These museums and exhibits aim to address the parts of American history that have been underdiscussed and underrepresented in mainstream narratives. The museum’s educational director, Joy Bivins Pryor, who previously worked at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, explained that these institutions are important for a more complete understanding of American history.
According to Pryor, the museum’s educational director, there is a need for more museums and institutions dedicated to teaching the expansive history of African Americans in the United States.
She believes that there are opportunities for 25 more museums to bring new curatorial perspectives to the conversation. The museum is also taking steps to develop relationships with school districts, particularly those in states where laws limit how public school teachers can discuss race and racism in the classroom.
Bans and restrictions on teaching about slavery and systemic racism have been enacted in at least 16 states since 2021, but Pryor said that the museum is still accessible to local schools, even in South Carolina, which has banned the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. The museum has launched an initiative to welcome field trip visits from elementary, middle, and high schools.
Pryor said that even before the official opening, the museum has been receiving hundreds of requests for school group tours. The museum has launched initiatives to welcome school groups and visitors of all ages, backgrounds and perspectives to explore the fuller truth of the Black American story.
According to Matthews, the museum’s president, the museum’s ultimate goal is to help visitors feel and experience everything related to the African American journey. The museum strives to honor the untold stories of the African American journey and reclaim and celebrate a sacred site in the nation’s history.
Visitors of all backgrounds are welcome to explore the museum’s exhibits and learn from the stories presented. The museum is poised to become a powerful resource for education and a hub for dialogue and discovery surrounding the African American experience.